Oh Queen, My Queen
by LovingSeleneTheVamp
Summary: Emma may be the saviour, and Regina the evil queen who doomed them all, but love knows no bounds and transverses all time and space limitations. When Regina is in danger, Emma always comes to her aid. Can Regina do the same for her? And will the discovery of a new brand of magic be enough to save them both? SwanQueen Emma/Regina
1. The Wrath of the Wraith

This fic begins at the start of Season 2. Emma has just brpken the curse, and all people in Storybrooke have remembered their fairy tale pasts.

* * *

"Now, now I find my daughter." The words were said with feeling. The curse had been broken, so it seemed that was the only logical step for Snow.

"So it's true?" My words were clipped. For a moment, one long, fearful moment, I could see it in my mother's eyes that she was afraid I would reject her. But the way she looked at me, the way she cupped my face, I couldn't. I was too in shock.

"You found us." She said tearfully as she and my father, Prince Charming, held me close.

"Grandpa?" Henry asked from next to me, making this entire situation even more complicated.

"I suppose so kid." Charming hugged my son, completing this whole strange family reunion. And amidst all of this strange confusion, this post spell world, I could only think one thought: _The woman I love is an evil queen. _ And I knew what that meant. Danger was coming. And I had to get to her.

I ran down the street, following the train of people forming a mob in front of Regina's house. I slammed into the back of it, shoving people aside. "Let her go! Let her go! LET HER GO!"

"Why should I listen to you?" Whale asked, angrily.

"Because I'm still the sheriff."

"And because she saved us. She saved all of us." David, Charming, _my dad_, broke in, separating Whale from where he had pinned Regina to the wall. And on her face she was wearing that stern façade, that mask that almost none can penetrate. But I recognized what it was: fear. She was afraid we would let the crowd kill her. But I could do no such thing. The crowd allowed us, under the persuasion of my parents, to lock in a cell in the sheriff's station. I wondered if they'd have allowed the same courtesy to her if they'd known how I felt about her, but I couldn't ask them.

I grabbed Regina gruffly by the arm, pulling her down the street. My parents followed behind me, but not as closely as they could have. "What will become of me?" Regina asked me fearfully. Something seemed weird. She was at once the woman I knew, and yet, at the same time, different. "I was not made for this world, and I will not be contained within it."

"You'll be contained wherever I leave you. And after I find Gold, I'll make all of this right."

"You foolish woman." She practically spat at me. "You won't make anything right. The world which all of these people," She grinded out the word people like it made her sick, "come from no longer exists."

"We'll see." I dragged her into the station and locked her behind bars. "You'll stay here." I growled. "That's what will become of you." She stood in the center of the cell, glaring at me. I glared back at her, hoping for maybe a moment that maybe she would let me see a glimpse of the real her for just a moment.

"Well you best be off. If you intend to let me rot I suggest you allow me to do it alone." She swept back her jacket and blouse, as regally as a queen would throw back the length of her cloak. I was taken aback by her beauty, and not for the first time.

"Emma." Mary Margaret drew my attention to her and my father. "We must go find Mr. Gold. He will know what happened here. What that purple smoke was. Let's go."

I spared one last look for The Evil Queen before turning and following my parents from the station. Only Gold could explain to us what was happening to hear. And through finding Gold I could figure out how to return everyone to their lives. Stupid curses. Stupid magic.

In Gold's shop we found something disturbing. A calm Mr. Gold. "Do not worry yourselves. I've done us all a favor."

"What do you mean?" David asked earnestly.

"I have sent something after Regina that not even she could defeat in this world. Soon all of our problems will be solved."

"What is it?" Snow demanded. Outside the sky turned dark, wind blew, and thunder rolled.

"That," Mr. Gold said, "Is my gift to you. That is gonna take care of Regina." The earth shook around us again, and a howling outside began.

"We have to go." I shouted. No one moved at first. "NOW!" Running down those streets may have been the most terrifying moment of my life. There aren't many words you can use to express the fear you feel when someone you care about is about to die. You can describe the way your body feels, but not the way you feel. My palms were lick with sweat. My heart beat in double time. My legs carried me through the town faster than I've moved in years. My breath came in short gasps, pulling in just enough oxygen to keep my muscles fueled, and not much more. But the _thoughts_. Those were the killers. _We're too late. We'll get there and she'll be dead, victim of some horrible creature. Caught by the mob. Pulled from her cell by way of a skeleton key. Dead. Irreparably damaged._

Those were the thoughts that fueled my body, propelling me ahead of my parents to the station. When I got to the door I had to fumble with the keys, giving them the time they needed to catch up. I ripped the door open, and David pushed me back, charging in ahead of me. Mary Margaret did the same, holding me back for just a second. They were trying to protect me, and I found that extremely frustrating. I ran down the hall behind them, and what I saw left me frozen in my tracks.

Regina was still in her cell, but there was a bright light coming from her. From within her. He stood, frozen, as a black shape floated in front of her, seeming to suck the life from her very body. And I was frozen in place. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything differently. "HEY!" David shouted, throwing a chair threw the figure. It stopped it's assault on Regina, and turned on David, throwing a desk in his direction. He narrowly avoided it.

"Over here!" Mary Margaret screamed from the other direction, turning an improvised flame thrower onto the creature. It made an awful noise and flew out the window, leaving a deafening silence and broken glass in its place. The moment of silence was broken by a ragged, desperate breath from Regina, who was now on the floor of her cell. I tore my gave away from the window and ran to her, helping her off the ground.

"What the hell was that thing?" I asked, sounding calmer than I felt.

"A wraith." Her voice was rough and ragged, as if she'd been coughing for days, or recovering from tonsillitis. "A soul-sucker." She looked up at me with desperation in her eyes.

"Did I-" Mary Margaret began, but Regina finished her question.

"Kill it? No. Just made it angry. It'll be back. It doesn't stop until it devours it's prey. Me." She held up her hand, showing a distinct mark on her palm. I didn't understand exactly what was happening, but the fear in her eyes was enough for me to understand it was serious. Serious enough for me to try and avoid looking at her chest. More than once anyways.

"So how do we kill it?" I asked, preparing myself for a battle.

She leaned harder against the cell door, wrapping her hand around one of the bars, supporting herself. "There's no way. You can't kill something that's already dead."

"Then we have a problem." I stated, matter-of-factly.

"No. We don't." David spoke up, making me hate him more than I had in all the years I'd wondered who my parents were. "Regina does."

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"David?" Mary Margaret questioned as well.

"We can't let her die."

"Why not?" My father asked like a fool. "Then the thing goes away. Then we're safe."

"Quite the example you're setting for your daughter there." Regina's ego reared it's head.

"No. You don't get to judge us." He pointed an accusatory finger at Regina, and I stared down at it, wanting to slap his hand away from her.

"Let me ask you something. Where do you think that thing came from?" She paused for effect. "Gold."

I said the first thing I could think of. "I made a promise to Henry." T was true, but it wasn't the main reason for what I was going to say next. "She's not dying." There was a moment of silence, and I could sense the emotions around the room. David's anger. Regina's surprise. And there was something entirely different from Mary Margaret: pride.

"If it can't be killed, what do you suggest?" Mary Margaret asked, directing the question at Regina.

"Send it somewhere it can't hurt anyone." She replied, looking at us with an air of knowledge, demonstrating to us that she already had an idea. I looked away from her, concern written on my face and worry in my heart. It was time to figure out how to save my Queen. And already that was how I thought of her. Not as the Evil Queen, but simply as _my Queen._

* * *

Obviously this was just the setup to the story. This follows the first episode of season 2 almost exactly, but I wanted to trace over it through Emma's mind, as I see it. Hopefully you'll stick around for the next part of the story. Thanks!


	2. Marked

As of right now I'm keeping incredibly close to the series. I'm literally even following the dialogue. But obviously, I'm changing everything happening in the character's heads. (Or am I.) Read on!

* * *

"It will open a portal to our land. We will send the wraith there." Regina said as we stepped into the courthouse, setting a hat on the ground. We all gathered around her.

"I don't understand," Mary Margaret said. "I thought our land was gone."

"It is. Sending it to a place that doesn't exist will banish it into oblivion." The lights went out, and we set the brooms David had handed us on fire as Regina continued to kneel by the hat. She spun it, and nothing happened.

"Regina." I said her name, and nothing more.

"I'm trying." She said it with no trace of impatience, simply stating a fact. The doors blew open with a gust of wind, and the same howling from before began again, blowing out my torch. The wraith came swooping in, slowly and ominously, as if the creature knew how terrified we were and fed on it. David charged it, waving his still lit torch at the creature. He swung at it several times while Mary Margaret poured olive oil on the railing in the courthouse.

"David!" She called his name, and he turned and lit the oil on fire, making a solid line of fire, with he and the wraith on one side, and Regina, Mary Margaret and I on the other.

"Hurry!" He shouted, continuing his assault on the creature.

Regina continued trying to spin the hat. "It's not working!" She tried again and again while David attacked the creature behind us.

I leaned over Regina, partially to make sure she could hear me, and partially to shield her from the smoke and flames all around us. "What is the problem?" I shouted to her.

"It's magic." She practically growled. "It's different here."

"Now would be the time!" David's frantic shout came to us over the crackling of the fire.

I glanced over my shoulder at David and my mother, and I acted on instinct. Part of me felt the need to pull Regina from the scene, while another part of me thought that maybe, together, we could do something. But when I grabbed her arm, something amazing happened. She froze for a moment, as if my touch angered her, but then between us something flowed. It was a feeling I'd never experienced before, as if all the power in the world was trapped in our two bodies and could only be accessed when we were connected. And I only had one word for it: Magic. Regina turned the hat one more time, and a purple vortex flowed out of it. A look passed between Regina and I. It seemed to me to be a look of amazement, bewilderment, and something else I couldn't place. But I never wanted to look away. Regina and I stood up in tandem, never looking away from each other as the room grew dim in the dark purple smoke.

David shouted to us, "It's coming!"

I turned just in time to see the wraith coming over Regina's shoulder, and my mind, so clouded and confused before, was suddenly crystal clear, and full of only one thought: _Not her_.

"Regina!" I shouted, diving towards her and covering her body with mine. The wraith missed her, and was sucked into the vortex we had set for it. I had just one moment to look down upon her under me, when something wrapped tightly around my ankle. I was ripped off of Regina and down into the vortex. The last thing I remembered was screaming, "No." We were so close to something, anything, that the only thing I could think was _No._

* * *

I gathered myself off the floor, looking around in shock. A feeling I was familiar with began to overwhelm me. It flooded every fiber of my being, nestled in every blood cell and ravaged every nerve. I had banished her. I had banished Emma. I suffered a flashback to shoving my mother through a portal, recalling how even in loving her I had had to be rid of her. And now Emma was gone as well. There was no time to really ponder these feelings, just to acknowledge them as they swept over me and left me breathless. I felt as if the wind was sucked from her lungs, the same way I had felt at the death of Daniel. When I had realized he was gone forever. The tears welled up in my eyes, and I put my hand over the place on my arm where Emma's hand had last been. I tried to fit my fingers exactly over where I'd thought hers had been, trying to recreate that feeling I had had with her. Never, not in all my years of magic, had I ever felt like that. That oneness. The wholeness. As if every part of our beings flowed together. As if my very power had flowed from her.

David moved on the floor, picking himself up from where he had collapsed, attempting to dive after Mary Margaret, who had purposefully followed Emma into the portal. They were both gone, and he and I were alone. He picked up the hat, looking at me with the anger of a wild animal in his eyes. "Where are they?" He growled at me.

I composed myself, trying to erase the tragic emotions threatening to overwhelm me. They didn't make sense. "I have no idea." I answered calmly.

"Are they dead?"

"The curse, it destroyed all the lands." It was a lie, but one that came to me easily.

"Are they dead?"

"I don't know."

"I should have killed you myself!"

"Well then what's stopping you!?" I shouted back at him. In an instant I banished all the despair I felt at the loss of Emma, and let rage flow through me again. Suddenly, this was his fault. It was all his fault. He married Snow. He brought my wrath down on them both. If not for him, Snow woud never have had Emma, and if Emma had never existed, the curse never would have been broken. I would never have lost Emma, because she wouldn't have existed to begin with. This is all his fault. The magic, my last gift from Emma, flowed through me, strengthening me. I used it to lift David up, throwing him against the wall. Tree branches flew from the wall, wrapping David up and crushing him. Slowly I would pull the life from him, causing him the pain he had caused me. "You think you're some heroic prince?" I searched my mind for any insults to throw at him. "Please. You're just the son of a shepherd. I should have killed you when I could." _Should have saved myself all this trouble_. "And now, I can." I began to crush the life from him, paying him back for all he's dealt me in this life and another, when I heard a voice I couldn't ignore.

"Mom?" _Henry_.

I spun around. Henry had entered the court room with Red. "Henry, what are you doing here?" Suddenly everything was different. _He has his mother's eyes_, I couldn't stop myself from thinking.

"What are you doing?" He asked, confusion in his young eyes.

"It's ok. You're safe now." I put my arms around him, releasing the magic holding David to the wall. I heard him crash to the floor behind me, gasping for breath that he was lucky to have.

"Where's my mom? Where's-"

I cut him off. "They're gone." I tried to hide the tears, but I could feel my eyes watering with them. "They fell through a portal, they're…Henry I am sorry."

"No you're not. You really are the evil queen." He steeled himself. "I don't wanna see you again."

The tears threatened to spill over. "No, don't say that. I love you."

"Then prove it. Get Emma and Mary Margaret back. And until then, I don't wanna see you. Leave me, leave everyone else alone."

"Where will you go?" I couldn't let him go. Where would he stay? Where would he live? He has no one but me and Emma. _Me and Emma._ The sound of that rang in my head.

"With me." David said gruffly from behind me.

I turned slowly to face him. Already the earlier rage I'd felt was but a mere memory. He walked by me, not even sparing me a glance, and leading Henry from the courthouse with Red.

I sunk to the ground, holding my head between my hands. I have to find them, I thought quietly to myself. Maybe this was the turning point of everything. Maybe this was why everything that had happened so far had happened. I had made my whole life about Snow. All of my miseries, all of my problems, they had all come from the need to destroy Snow. But maybe, just maybe, everything hadn't cultivated with Snow. It had been about her daughter. It had been about Emma. About finding Emma when I would need her most. She had given me a son, and now it was time to find her. No matter what it took, I would search all lands to find Emma and rescue her. But first, I needed my magic, and I needed my son.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that. I am so into this story that I literally spent my entire work break writing on scrap paper. I am so excited to take this where it's going that I hope you are too. I might follow the storyline closely for a while, until I decide I like it better my way. Read and review!


	3. Dream

So I've been receiving requests to take this story in my own direction so...here it goes.

* * *

I didn't know where I was, but it didn't matter. I was surrounded by a white fog, that wouldn't clear. I felt alone, incredibly alone. There was no sound around me, no people, no sights even. And then that all started to change. The white fog turned purple, and dissipated. There was a beeping, and a sense of urgency. The hospital materialized around me, and Henry was on a bed in front of me_. I remember this. The time he was poisoned._

I felt the same terrified urgency I had felt then, and in desperation I looked around. His book bag was on the bed next to me. I flipped it over, dumping it out on the bed. Out came Henry's fairy tale book, and just like I had such a short time ago, I picked it up, feeling the tales of all the story rush into my mind. It was as if I'd been there the entire time, and should have believed all along. I turned around, and there was Regina, in all her terrified glory.

"Where's my son!?" Her voice broke, and she was clearly on the edge of tears. My mind wanted to react in all kinds of different ways, but my body acted as I had on that day, grabbing Regina by the arm and throwing her into a supplies closet. I threw her into a set of metal shelves. "What the hell are you doing?" She screamed, as cleaning supplies rained down around her.

"You did this!" I grabbed her, slamming her into a set of lockers. She tried to fight me back, but I grabbed her by the arm and slammed her back, pinning her by her wrist and by her throat. "He's sick because of you! That apple turnover you gave me, he ate it."

"What, that was meant for you!" Her shock and her answer had told me everything I needed to know. It was poisoned. Henry had been right.

"It's true, isn't it?" I could feel my emotions all over again: the anger, the passion, the fire in my blood.

"What are you talking about?" She sounded surprised, but I knew. I had picked up the book, and from it I had learned everything I needed to know. She could fool me no longer. I'm not an idiot.

"It's true isn't it? All of it." I screamed at her, not relinquishing my hold on her.

Suddenly, all the fight was gone from her, and she gave me nothing more than a simple, "Yes."

"I was leaving town, why couldn't you leave things alone?"

She growled the words at me. "Because as long as you're alive, Henry will never be mine."

"He will never be anyone's unless you fix this. You wake him up."

"I can't!" She shouted, the desperation flooding her voice.

"Don't you have magic?" Now I knew the answer, but my trapped body was reliving this memory again, as if I had no choice at all.

The tears began to spill over, as she shook her head. "That was the last of it. It was supposed to put you to sleep." She paused, and I realized I still hadn't released her. "Magic is different here. It's unpredictable." The tear poured down her face, and she hung her head.

Suddenly I felt different. I was in control of my own actions again, my own emotions and movements. I looked at the Regina in front of me, the emotional, vulnerable woman. Not an evil queen, not a mayor, just a woman afraid for her son. "I know." I replied, and after a moment's pause, I leaned in and I kissed her. She froze under me at first, the tears still on her face. I kept kissing her, and she stayed still underneath me. I began to pull back from her, realizing my mistake, when she took the arm of hers I didn't have pinned to the lockers and snaked it around my waist, pulling me back to her. She kissed me back, and I released the hold I had on her, putting my hand on the side of her face, kissing her deeply. She pulled back a second, searching in my eyes. "He's my son." She murmured.

"He's _our_ son. And he will be alright. With us. With _both_ of us." She kissed me again, wrapping both her arms around my neck.

"Do you believe that?" She asked me between kisses.

"Of course I do." My hands traveled her body, and I kissed down the side of her neck.

Her hands were lost in my hair. "Oh Emma," she half moaned, and I pulled her closer to me, kissing her again.

The scene changed again, and I found myself still breathless, hovering over Regina. Her dark hair, short and severe but at the same time beautiful, spilled around her face and over her pillows. In her sleep she appeared the way I'd always secretly seen her. Vulnerable. Suddenly her face was scrunched up, as if she'd seen something that surprised her. And then a smile crossed her face, bright and unexpected as the sun shining through a break in storm clouds. And from my odd viewpoint of above her, I heard something amazing. "Oh Emma." Regina said clearly in her sleep. "Together, we will be alright."

"Regina." I said. And her eyes opened, and in that instant she sat straight up, as if she'd heard me. Then I was gone.

* * *

I sat straight up in my bed, tears running down my face. It had all been a dream, but something about it was real. Too real. Emma with her arms around me, kissing me. And what had she said? Henry. Henry is our son. I wiped the tears from my face, laying back down and closing my eyes again.

_Emma._ I thought. _Please, return to me._ _Henry is _our _son. We need him and he needs us._ And in that moment I saw something. Emma and Mary Margaret. They were lying on a stone floor, surrounded by rubble. Emma was just starting to stir, shifting things from around her. She looked slightly confused, but that would be expected in her current situation. I could view her from above, as if I was sitting on a tower wherever she was. In my concern, I muttered one word, "Emma." She sat straight up, looking up at me as if she could see me. I gasped and opened my eyes again, sitting straight up. It seemed as if sleep was no longer in the plans for me, so I got up and began to get dressed. I paused a few times, replaying the dream over and over in my head. The thought of Emma pushing me up against a wall, pinning me there, and kissing away my tears caused me to collapse on the edge of my bed, my head in my hands. I ran my hand up and down the arm Emma had pinned to the wall, pretending it was her hand and not mine. My hand hit an odd ridge on my arm. I opened my eyes, looking at my arm. There was a mark there. It looked like… _A handprint_.

There was a mark on my arm where Emma had grabbed me yesterday. It looked almost like a scar that was very close to becoming my own skin again. This was where the magic had passed from Emma to me. I stood up, walking in front of the full length mirror in my room. I turned to my side, looking all the way around my arm. It was definitely a handprint. I pulled on a pair of high-waisted black pants. I went to my closet, and preoccupied, I pulled out a sleeveless shirt. The weather in Storybrooke was already slipping from late summer to a chilly fall. A sleeveless shirt would never suffice, especially with this handprint on my arm. I hung the shirt back up, selecting a light blue long sleeve shirt. I looked at the mark on my arm one more time before I pulled on my blouse, tucking it in to my pants. Rumplestiltskin's words echoed through my mind. _Magic always comes at a price_. And that made me wonder, _What was the price paid for this magic. What had it cost Emma_?

* * *

Who wants to know the price Emma paid, eh? Let me know what you think!


	4. Mother

Wait until you find out what the price paid for that magic was...

* * *

I drove my car carefully through the town, one hand on the wheel and the other on my arm, while cautiously looking around, expecting townspeople to come for me at any moment. The mark on my arm was my courage, a constant reminder that Emma needed my help. I parked my car in front of Mr. Gold's shop. The sign on the door said closed, but he was going to help me whether he liked it or not. I walked in quietly, but the bell on the door announced my arrival. Rumplestiltskin was standing in the canter of his shop, with his back to me.

"I don't know if you can read, dearie, but a sign that says closed usually means _closed_. As in do not come in."

"Oh, I can read just fine Rumple." I said, summoning my most condescending Queen voice.

He turned around to face me. "Ah, Your Majesty. To what do I owe this," He looked me up and down and sneered, "pleasure?"

"I need your help."

"And why would I help you? What could you possibly have that I want?"

"I'm trying to do something that could benefit us all." When he didn't ask what, I continued. "I need my mother's book."

"How exactly would returning magic to you benefit me?" He didn't wait for me to answer, just continued speaking with a sly smile on his face. "You know, there are rumors swirling around town about you. The townspeople say you can't get it up."

My temper flared. If I had had my powers I would have pinned him to the wall with them and tortured him for his insolence. No one dared disrespect me like this. "Do not," I paused for emphasis, "speak to me in such a way, letch. You may have forgotten, but I am still your queen, and I demand to be treated as such."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten who you were, Queen. But in this world you are only a mayor. And you're barely even that anymore. How long do you think you have until the townspeople push you out?" He had moved closer to me, until he was in my face, trying to intimidate me with his presence. But I would never back down. "You are incredibly foolish if you believe any here are faithful to you, Your Majesty."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Attacking him wouldn't change anything. "Will you look at something? Something magical." I pursed my lips, waiting for his response. I could see in his face that he was battling with his love of undermining me and his curiosity over what magic I could possibly have.

"Alright dearie, let's have it. What is it?" I began to unbutton my blouse and he took a step back. "What are you doing?"

"Relax." I snapped. "Not even in my worst nightmares." I finished unbuttoning my blouse, pulling my arms free and standing before him in just my cami. "Have you ever seen anything like this?" I asked, displaying the handprint on my arm to him.

He froze for a moment, as if I had shocked him. For a second he was speechless. "Where did you get this?" He demanded. "How did this come about?"

"Why? Do you recognize it?"

"Recognize it? I could never forget it!" He hobbled away, stopping in front of a bookshelf and pulling down an impossibly old looking book. He spent a few moments flipping pages until he found what he was looking for. He put a finger in the middle of the page and began to read. "The Mark is a very rare, old form of magic. It has only ever been recorded between soul mates. The Mark is believed to be the foundation on which the magic of True Love began. This form of magic is permanent, uncontrollable, and irreversible. The effects of being Marked are unknown, and anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon is few and far in-between. It is known, however, that the two parties involved will be forever linked, and are destined to share this magic for as long as they both live." He finished reading and looked up at me. "So there you have it. Who has had the misfortune of being permanently linked with you? That seems like a terrible price to pay for a bit of magic."

"Do you know anything else about this?" I asked him. "Is there any chance that people who are Marked could, I don't know, share dreams?"

He looked at me suspiciously. "Anything is possible. This is the oldest form of magic. You heard me, it came even before True Love. It sounds like it's even more powerful than True Love, but I can't be sure, because no one has been Marked in living memory." I started to put my shirt back on, and he grabbed my arm. "Who Marked you?"

I shook him off, buttoning my shirt, and ignoring his question. "Where is my mother's book?" He waved his hand, and the book appeared in a smoky cloud of purple in his grasp. He pointed it towards me, but snatched it back when I reached for it.

"I propose we make a deal."

I could feel my blood beginning to boil again. "What do you want?"

"Information." He replied, grinning in that slimy way of his.

I knew what he wanted, but I asked anyways. I finished straightening out my shirt, making sure I looked presentable, trying to feel less exposed before him. "What do you wish to know?"

He repeated his question. "Who Marked you?"

I paused for a moment, weighing my options. He maintained that sleazy smile, knowing that he had me cornered. What choice do I have? "Emma. Emma Marked me." The smile froze on his face, and I took the book from his hand, hurrying from the shop as fast as possible. But before I could shut the door I still heard him say under his breath, "Well, well, well."

* * *

I pushed the odd bits of wood and stone away from me. Something bad had happened. The wraith had pulled me and Mary Margaret into the portal. And apparently, while I was unconcious I'd had the strangest dream about Regina.

"Emma." Clear as day I heard my name, but something was wrong. That couldn't be possible at all. I sat up straight, looking around. Where had her voice come from. It had to have been her, I knew it. But how? How had I heard her here? And how could it have even been her. Regina had never once called me 'Emma' before. It must have been the aftereffects of the dream. And what a strange dream it had been. I thought back to the ending, when I had been hovering over Regina. I had never in real life seen what Regina's bedroom looked like, but I was sure that it would look exactly like it did in my dream. It had been a clean, stark room, decorated in shades of grey and black, with simple vases and bedside tables. That was definitely Regina's style. But the part that really had me shaken was the way I had been hovering over Regina's sleeping form. I had said her name, and she had woken up. A part of me ached, longed for that dream to be true. If I could reach Regina, I was sure we could all be saved.

I nudged Mary Margaret, who was lying next to me. "Get up." She grumbled at me. "Get up!"

She moaned, groaning and sitting up. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." I anwered truthfully, shaking thoughts of Regina from my mind. I stood up, looking around. We were in a barren castle. It seemed as if it had never been lived in. Sections of the ceiling were on the floor. Portions of the flagstones had been separated by trees that had grown up through them. The walls around us were covered in thick ivy. It seemed as if the land had done its best to reclaim this castle into the landscape. I turned around, looking at everything around us. When I turned full circle I found myself g=face to face with a sword. At the other end of this sword was a female warrior. She wore full armor, which covered all of her body except for her face, revealing a dark complexion, almond eyes, and long dark hair swept back in a braid. The look on her face was the fiercest thing about her, even including the sword in her hand.

"Who are you?" She demanded, not lowering the sword. Over her shoulder I could see Mary Margaret being detained by a young woman with a long knife.

"I'm Emma. Who are you?"

The warrior woman in front of me didn't answer, but the younger girl did. "I am Aurora."

The name struck a memory in me. "Aurora? Like sleeping beauty?" Of course. They're all fairy tale characters. I looked at the woman in front of me. "And you…you're Mulan, aren't you?"

Her sword dropped in shock, and I used that moment to attack, diving headlong into her and knocking the air from her. The sword clattered to the ground as she dropped it in surprise. As Mulan's back hit the ground she continued to roll with the hit, using my own momentum to throw me over her and flat onto my back.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret shouted, and I could see her struggling with Aurora. Mulan was already on her feet above me, pointing her sword at me. She looked at Aurora and Mary Margaret, where Mary Margaret had successfully disarmed Aurora and had her pinned to the ground. "Let her go!" she shouted, and in her moment of distraction I swept my legs, from under her, jumping to my feet. She tried to point her sword at me from the ground, but I stomped on the hand that held it, causing her to scream in pain and drop it.

"You ok Emma?" Mary Margaret asked

I picked up Mulan's sword, pointing it at her. "I'm fine. Now let's try this again. What are you doing here Mulan?"

She sat still and stern for a moment, so I pushed the tip of the sword into what was exposed of her shoulder. Not enough to cut her, but enough for her to hurt. She winced in pain, but did not cry out. "We were here to save the princess, Prince Phillip and I. But he was killed by the wraith you brought here. So it is now the two of us, and we are alone."

"Is there no one else alive?" I asked earnestly.

"There is, but we all remain together in a camp and care for each other."

"Will you take us there? We mean you no harm."

"I find that hard to believe." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she held her injured hand.

"I'm sorry, but I had to. Will you please take us there?"

"Fine." She relented easier than I had expected, and I moved the sword away from her, allowing her to get up. "I think my hand is broken." She tried to flex the fingers on her right hand, and they wouldn't budge.

I felt a tiny twinge of guilt. "Let me see," I said, tucking her sword under my arm. She turned towards me, offering me her hand. I went to take it, and she swiftly drew back her fist. That was the last thing I saw before she knocked me out with one solid punch.

When I came to I was tied like a pig on the back of a horse. My hands were bound, my feet were bound, and if I wasn't mistaken I was tied around the middle to the saddle of the horse. I looked up, and saw that Mulan was riding the horse I was on, and Mary Margaret was tied up the same way on a horse behind Aurora. The motion of the horse was unsettling, and I could already feel my face swelling where Mulan had punched me.

"Where are we going?" I asked loudly.

Mulan glanced behind her at me. "Oh good, you're awake. You wanted to come to camp? I'm bringing you to camp." Her sharp tone told me that this wasn't open for discussion, and that she wasn't answering anymore questions. I lifted my bound hands up to my mouth, wiping it and coming away with blood_. God damn it._ We finished the rest of our ride in silence. It was probably only five more minutes, but on the back of a horse with my body bouncing and my head ringing, it felt like hours. They passed sentry towers and an outer ring of small cottages. Mulan rode to the center of them, where a small building was built. "You will wait here," she said, dismounting her horse and dragging me off it. For a slight woman she was well muscled, throwing me over her shoulder and carrying me into this shack. From the inside I could see that the shack was much more than that. It was actually more like a cavern, a place to keep prisoners. Mulan put me on the ground, not gently, and then went out to retrieve Mary Margaret. She dropped her next to me, removing our bindings and locking us in the makeshift jail. Mary Margaret's eyes were closed, so I shook her.

"Come on, wake up, wake up." I shook her harder.

I heard a rustling behind me, and I leapt to my feet, prepared to fight, when a soothing voice spoke. "Worry not, child, I mean you no harm." A woman, maybe in her late fifties, stepped into the light. Looking at her I felt a thrill of primal fear spike down my spine as she said, "I am Cora." _Regina's mother._

* * *

Somewhere far away, realm's away, Regina stumbles in her kitchen, bracing herself against the counter. She closes her eyes, unsure of what is happening, when a primal spike of fear runs down her spine, giving her goosebumps and making her palms sweat. And in that moment, with her eyes closed and her body still, she sees an older woman, maybe in her late fifties, step from darkness to light through eye's that aren't her own. And with ears that don't belong to her, she hears, "I am Cora." And then she hears a thought that doesn't belong to her. _Regina's mother._

She hears that one word, over and over again in her mind._ Mother._

* * *

Hopefully you guys enjoy where I'm going with this. I am literally writing this story while listening to the orchestral suite from the show. I am crazy in love with it. But I keep cranking out chapters, and hopefully you all keep reading them. Reviews help and inspire me, so light it up!


	5. Resurrection

So, maybe it was just me, but this entire chapter feels intense. I stayed up late into the night writing it, because i was afraid that if i went to bed I wouldn't remember what i wanted to happen. So hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as i did. It sticks kind of close to the show, but there were elements in the show i was dying to use for my plot. Read on!

* * *

I stood outside Snow's front door, wondering if I should knock. In another time, another land I would have thrown the door open and walked in. But this wasn't that place. I looked up and down the hallway outside Snow's loft, knowing I should get out of the hallway before someone saw me. I knocked, strong, self-assured, much like myself.

"Just a minute." Charming called from inside. It took a few moments, but he finally opened the door. "Regina? What are you doing here?" I stepped around him into the apartment. "Yes, why don't you come in?" He said sarcastically. "What do you want? Henry isn't here."

I looked around the apartment before turning and facing David. "I'm not here for Henry." I paused. "But where is he?"

David folded his arms as if he was unhappy sharing this information with me. "He's at the stables. Every Prince should have his steed. And he is undoubtedly a prince."

I nodded. "You are right." I allowed myself a moment to remember how much I had loved riding. Why had I never taken Henry to ride? I silently chastised myself, then pushed that thought to the back of my mind. Now was not the time to be jealous of David's parenting. "I need your help. Do you still have Jefferson's hat?"

"It is less a hat and more useless scraps of fabric. I've been trying to find Jefferson all day to see if he can fix it." He looked at me suspiciously. "Why?"

I pulled the book out of the bag I was carrying, showing it to Charming. "I've found the magic to power it. To bring Emma and Snow back."

The look of suspicion still hadn't left his face. "Why would you want to help us bring them back? I'd have thought you'd be happy they're gone."

My hand drifted subconsciously to the mark. Happy was the last emotion I'd use to describe the feelings I'd felt since seeing Emma disappear down the portal. "Because. Henry wishes it. What kind of life would he live without one of his moms and his grandmother? He blames me for this, so I must fix it."

"Well, it is your fault." He spared me none of his venom. "You did this. You did all of this." His phone rang before I could respond. "Hello? Yes, this is the acting Sheriff." The person on the other end of the line sounded panicked, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. "He was attacked? By who? By what? I'll be right there." He hung up. "Dr. Whale has been attacked. I have to go to the hospital. Do you think you could pick up Henry and bring him here in half an hour? And you know, stay with him until I get back?"

"Of course. I am his mother, after all." I picked the book up off the counter. "Will you call me if you find Jefferson?"

"Yes. If you're sure you can power that hat, I will find a way to do this." There was an awkward moment between us, and I wondered if he was remembering the time I'd tried to seduce him. I could hardly even recall why I, as Regina the Mayor, had even thought that would be a good idea. I had wasted so much time being foolish, when Emma was around, and now I was fighting to get her back before my mother could do something crazy…like kill her too.

The moment passed, and I left the apartment. I sat in the front seat of my car. I could either go home and wait to get Henry, or I could store the book somewhere safe. After a moment of contemplation, I chose the latter, turning on the car and driving to the cemetery. The temptation of using magic was too strong to keep the book around me until I needed it, so I would lock it up for safekeeping. I got out of the car, taking the short walk to my father's crypt slowly. I was almost at the first step when I looked up and realized something was wrong. The door was open. There was a moment where I paused in shock. _Who would dare? _I hurried in to the crypt. Nothing appeared to be disturbed, but I knew better than to take anything at face value. The tomb in the middle opened up, revealing a hidden set of stairs. I hurried down them, taking them two at a time until I reached the door at the bottom, which was ajar. I pushed it open slowly, afraid of what I would see. The glass coffin in the middle of the room stood empty. Daniel's body, which I'd kept frozen in time, was gone. I looked up and down the walls of my great vault, where I stored the heart I had gathered over the years. Two were gone. One had been Grant's, which I'd crushed in a violent rage. The other one was missing. I locked the book in a box on an undisturbed shelf, hoping that my vault would hold against similar thefts in the future. I relocked the vault, rushing from it to my car and calling David. He answered on the first ring.

"Regina?" He seemed surprised that I'd be calling him so soon. "Is something wrong?"

"Daniel. Did you see Whale?"

"Yeah." He sounded exhasperated, though with me or with the situation I couldn't tell. "He can't really tell me what happened. He just keeps saying, 'It's alive' and 'I did it.'" I froze. _He did it. He actually did it._ "Regina? What is it?"

"David, Whale is Frankenstein. _The_ Viktor Frankenstein."

"As in Frankenstein and the monster?"

"One in the same."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent." My voice came out a lot calmer sounding than I felt over the war of emotions in my chest. Daniel is alive.

"So when he says he's done it…"

"He's brought him back." I clarified. "Daniel." I couldn't stop the thrill in my voice at the idea of Daniel being alive.

"Your old love Daniel? Regina, he is dangerous. He attacked Whale, ripping his arm clear off." I was only mildly surprised that David knew who Daniel was. I was also slightly impressed at how he was taking this news. I ignored his warning completely. "How?"

"There's no time to explain. We must find him."

"Ok. Where would Daniel go?"

"The stables." I answered, sure of myself. The stables were the place he'd felt most comfortable alive, and they would be the place he'd head for now that he was alive again. An icy fist plunged itself into my heart, stopping me cold, as David reached the same conclusion I had. _Henry._

"Henry's at the stables!" Daniel disconnected, but it didn't matter. I was already in a dead sprint for my car. I turned it on, neglecting to put on my seatbelt and tearing from the parking lot. I dodged pedestrians and opposing traffic on my way through the streets of Storybrooke, scattering groups of people and running up on the curb more than once. But it didn't matter to me, my son was in danger. I screeched to a noisy halt outside the stables, scattering dirt and gravel in the unpaved lot. I leapt from my car, leaving it running.

"Please I just want to help you!" I heard Henry's terrified voice coming from one of the stalls. I ran toward it just in time to see Daniel lifting Henry off his feet by his neck.

"Daniel!" I shouted. "Put him down!"

Daniel dropped Henry, turning to contemplate me. He almost looked like his old self, except for the sickly pallor to his face. He looked like… _He looks like death._ "Henry, run!" Henry crawled past me, leaping to his feet at the door and sprinting out. I could hear his steps speeding away from the stall. Daniel began to move towards me, and I began to back away, self-preservation kicking in along with an ache of longing. He had been my first love. I had cherished him and his memory for so long, and now, here he was. And I was scared. "Daniel, it's me. Regina." He began to reach for my throat, and in a last ditch effort, said the only thing I could think of. "Daniel, please. I love you." And it was true, I did. You never stop loving your first love. Even if you find your soul mate, your first love holds a part of your heart.

Daniel shook his head, kind of like a dog with water in it's ears. The painful expression on his face cleared up, and he recognized me. "Regina?"

"Yes, Daniel. Yes." I rejoiced, placing a hand on either side of his face. "It's me." The tears began brimming in my eyes.

"Regina." He put his arms around me, and I hugged him back, until he pulled away from me, grimazing again. "Regina, kill me." He growled. "Do it."

"I can't!" I hadn't used the book. I didn't have any powers.

"Do it." He seemed to take my 'I can't' as an 'I won't.' "Please, just do it. Let me go. Love again." His face contorted, and it was clear that whatever was left in front of me was no longer Daniel. He began reaching for my throat again, almost hesitantly, but then the monster in him won, and his hand closed like a vice grip around my throat. He lifted me off the ground, and the fear took over as the tears finally spilled over. I could feel the panic set in, and I thought, _Emma, save me._

* * *

I was brought to my knees by a terrible, crippling fear. I was so frightened I knew I was going to die. Cora and Snow rushed to my side, and I heard someone else's thoughts. _Emma, save me. _In my confusion I thought, _Regina?_ I closed my eyes, and all at once I could see what was happening to her. Tears poured from my eyes and hers as she thought, _Daniel, I forgive you. Forgive me. _"No!" I shouted, though whether in her voice or mine, I wasn't sure. _I won't lose you!_

Regina had both her hands clamped around Daniel's arm, and I felt my entire body fill with magic, as it had when I grabbed Regina the day before. The magic flowed through me to her, and Daniel froze before her for a moment before collapsing into a pile of dust. Regina fell from the height Daniel had been holding her at, hitting the ground on all fours and coughing. David came running from nowhere, helping her up and shouting her name. The last thought I heard from her was, _Thank you, Emma. Thank you._

I opened my eyes and found myself still on my knees. Tears were pouring down my face, and Mary Margaret was kneeling in front of me, my face in her hands. 'My arms were outstretched on either side of her, my palms facing outward as if I had been working magic. Which I supposed I had been. Mary Margaret was shaking me and calling my name. "Emma! Emma! What's happening!? Please talk to me!"

I swallowed, clearing the lump in my throat. "I don't know." I croaked truthfully. "I just don't know." I looked up at Cora, who had a carefully crafted mask of concern on her face. And in that moment, I knew. She was lying about everything. She hadn't changed, and never would. And trusting her could be a fatal mistake.

The door opened and Mulan stepped in, taking a moment to absorb the scene before her. I wiped the tears from my face. "You two." She pointed at Mary Margaret and I, where we were still on the floor. "Come." Mary Margaret stood up first, pulling me to my feet and keeping a hand on my back, as if she was worried I would fall over. A part of me was annoyed at the protective gesture, and another part of me appreciated it. I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but somehow, Regina and I were connected. Whatever had just happened, Regina had known I was there. She had _called_ for me. And until Mary Margaret and I could talk alone, I couldn't ask her anything about it. But hopefully, hopefully I could use it.

* * *

How do you guys like it? Did I make a mistake in using one of the ideas from the episode? I thought it fit perfectly, so let me know! Is this Marked idea a good one, or am I wasting my time entirely? This is what reviews are for. Let me know!


	6. The Quest

And the updates continue. This isn't much of an action chapter, but sometimes you need to take time to set up for future chapters! Soutout to Kath9567, my new beta reader. From here on out it might take me a little longer to get new chapters out, but they'll be better written with less mistakes. Woo! Read on!

* * *

We were led into a small building. The building itself couldn't necessarily be described as 'modest' since it was the largest one here, though that wasn't saying much. Every building in the compound was small, maybe designed to house four people in a single room, at best. But this one was larger, almost grander. It had an air about it, of being a headquarters, as if the people in charge lived here. It seemed my assumption was right as Mulan directed us into a room with a large table in it. There were guards on either side of the door that led to the outside; serious-faced men who had obviously seen battle and would kill again if necessary. Mulan walked through a doorway on the other side of the large room and leaned in. "They are here." It all had a 'secretary and the boss' kind of feeling, minus the R-rated behind the scenes action.

"Good." A deep voice stated from the other side of the door. Mary Margaret's head lifted, almost as if she recognized the voice. A little bit of hope appeared in her eyes.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Just wait." She whispered back. Mulan took a step back from the door and allowed a man to walk through. He was tall and strongly built. He was wearing most of his armor as if he expected to be called into battle at any moment. Mary Margaret gasped in surprise. "Lancelot!"

"Lancelot?" I questioned. _Of the round table?_ No matter how many of these fairy tale characters I meet, I am still surprised each and every time I meet a new one.

"Snow!?" He exclaimed, rushing over and lifting her up in a bear hug. "I don't understand? We thought you were dead!"

"We thought you were dead!" She said with her arms still wrapped around his shoulders. He put her down. "I don't understand. How are you alive?"

Lancelot then said, "We've been frozen here. We don't know for how long, but there was something, some kind of curse. For a long time, maybe many years, we were frozen in the place wherever we had been when the curse struck. And then maybe a year ago, the curse broke. Since then we've been living in this safe haven. It's the only place the ogres haven't reclaimed. Where have you been?"

Snow and Lancelot reminded me of teenagers in the way they were catching up.

"It was Regina who cast the curse. I have been trapped in another land. She took away all of our happy endings, trapping us in a world without magic and frozen in time. We spent twenty eight years living our lives and not knowing that we had all been separated from our true loves and from our families. And then, a year ago, Emma came to Storybrooke. She broke the curse."

"Storybrooke?" He asked.

"That's the name of the land we come from."

"And Emma?" He looked at me and Mary Margaret pulled him by his arm to me.

"This is my daughter, Emma." He looked at her with a shocked expression on his face. "Emma, this is my dear friend, Lancelot. He saved me; more than once. And, Emma saved all of us."

I shuffled from one foot to the other, embarrassed at the tone of pride Mary Margaret had used when speaking about me. Lancelot kneeled in front of me like a knight before his queen. "Emma, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. Your bravery will be known throughout the land and all will clamor to be subjects in your kingdom."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Lancelot. Slow your roll. I don't have a kingdom."

"Maybe not yet, but you are a Princess. Every princess will have her kingdom."

I looked over at Mary Margaret in horror. She stepped into the conversation, pulling Lancelot up from his knees. "We haven't really provided her with all the details of being royalty yet. She was raised apart from us and as an orphan." The sadness in her eyes when she said orphan made me look away, embarrassed by the moment.

Lancelot looked down at both of us. "It seems as if we have much to discuss Snow. For instance, where is Charming?"

"Charming is trapped in the other world with Emma's son, my grandson."

"You have a grandson? At any other time this news would be cause for a great celebration. As you can see we no longer have the ability to do such things. What is his name?"

"His name is Henry and you would love him." Tears welled up in Snow's eyes and I tried to contain myself. In watching the exchange between Lancelot and Snow I managed to grasp some of what my parents had lost. Everything. They had lost everything and everyone.

"I hate to break up this reunion but what about their punishment?" Mulan said. "They are responsible for Philip's death."

Lancelot turned back to us. "What happened? Mulan believes that because of you, our Prince is dead."

Mary Margaret turned to me and allowed me to explain. "It's kind of a long story but basically I broke the curse back home. Everyone woke up and they now remember who they were here, in Fairy Tale Land. Mr. Gold-err-Rumplestiltskin somehow brought magic to our land. Before that, there was no magic where we live. So he summoned a wraith and sent it after Regina, The Evil Queen." It pained me to call her The Evil Queen now but that was who she had been in this land and that was who Lancelot would know her as. "The wraith was targeting her and we had to protect her. Regina is the mother of my son and I would not allow her to be killed when I had any power to stop it." He looked confused so I needed to explain further. "I gave my son Henry up for adoption ten years ago. Regina adopted him and cared for him like he was her own. Anyway, I couldn't let her die. We found a way to open a portal and intended to send the wraith somewhere else. We were under the impression that Fairy Tale Land had already been destroyed by the curse so we thought to send the wraith here and it would then be destroyed. But it turned out that this land still existed and that Prince Philip had also been marked by the wraith. So when the wraith came here, it attacked him. But we didn't know that would happen; I swear. If I had known that you were all still alive and living here I would have done my best to find somewhere else to send it or come up with another way to be rid of it. We didn't want anyone to get hurt." I stopped talking and waited for Lancelot to say something, anything.

"Well…" He spoke slowly, as if he was worried about angering Mulan, who he was now looking at. "It seems to me that we can't blame them for this. They are to be protected. Do you understand?" Mulan nodded curtly. Lancelot turned back to Mary Margaret and I. "Snow, you and Emma," he nodded at me, as if to acknowledge that he was speaking to me and not just about me, "are my guests. I insist that you stay here with us."

"Lancelot, you are so kind. But we cannot stay. We must get back to Storybrooke." She looked at me and pulled me closer. "We have a family that needs us." I smiled, an embarrassed smile, still not used to this whole mother-daughter dynamic. I found it quite unsettling.

"What do you plan to do?"

"We don't know yet."

"Well then let's all sit down and discuss it. First, tell me how you escaped Fairy Tale Land."

"I did not escape. I was claimed by the curse. Emma did escape though. She escaped through-"

"A wardrobe." I cut in, feeling left out of the conversation. It felt like being the forgotten child at the adult's table. "They put me in a magical wardrobe shortly after I was born. The wardrobe had been carved from an enchanted tree with just enough magic to send me through to a different world." Reading Henry's book had truly come in handy.

"So this magical wardrobe created a portal?" Mulan asked, sitting down and joining our conversation for the first time. Mary Margaret nodded affirmatively. "Does this wardrobe still exist?"

"I have no idea. When the curse came down, the roof of the room we were in was destroyed and we were taken by the curse. I don't know how everything else fared or even if my castle itself still stands."

"We have no choice." I spoke, my voice sounding strong. "We have to go to your castle and see. It's the best hope we have right now."

"Is there anything I can say to convince you otherwise?" Lancelot asked, his hands clenched together and his shoulders hunched forward. "This is the safest place in the land and this quest you propose; it is dangerous. All of the kingdoms in this area are dangerous."

"There is no persuading me, my friend. We must go."

"Then at least do me one favor. Allow my best warrior to accompany you both."

Snow looked at me and I shrugged. She nodded at Lancelot. "Okay, I accept your offer."

"Good. Then Mulan will accompany you on your journey." He clapped his hands together as if that sealed the deal. Mulan bowed her head in acknowledgement. "The sun has almost set and traveling at night is unwise. You can begin your trip first thing in the morning. Mulan will show you where you can retire for the night."

"Thank you." Snow gushed to him. "For everything."

"It is my pleasure. Good luck to both of you and may you find what you're looking for."

Mulan rose silently, nodded to Lancelot and exited the room. We followed her. "There are not many open beds within the camp. However, there is one cottage with two beds. You may rest there for the night." She led us to the cottage, opened the door and walked through the door ahead of us. "There are only wool blankets. That is all we have." She pointed to a large wooden bowl. "That is your washing water." She pointed to a slightly smaller bowl on the other side of the shack. "That bowl is your drinking water. Do not confuse the two. Rest tonight. We leave at dawn." And then she left. Mulan was all business. I was pretty sure I would never like her, even if my jaw didn't ache from the hit she gave me.

I sat down wearily on one of the beds which seemed to be simply constructed from a wooden frame with a stuffed straw mattress on top. It didn't look comfortable at all. It didn't feel comfortable at all. Mary Margaret sat down on the other bed across from me.

"Emma? What happened before?"

I considered pretending I didn't know what she was talking about but that seemed like a waste of time. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if it was real." She looked at me questioningly. "I was afraid. Terrified. I knew I was going to die. Except," I paused, bracing myself. "It wasn't me. None of it was me."

She looked at me, concerned. "Who was it?"

"I was Regina."

"What do you mean, you were Regina?"

"I was in her head. I could see what she was seeing. I could feel what she was feeling. She knew she was going to die. And she _called_ for me."

"Regina knew she was going to die and she called for you? From Storybrooke?"

"Yes. But I don't think she called for me, exactly. She thought about me. She thought, 'Emma, save me.'"

"What was she in danger from?"

My jaw almost dropped. "You believe me?"

"Of course I believe you. You're my daughter and magic is far more powerful then you know."

I smiled. "She was being attacked." I thought back to Regina's thoughts. "By Daniel. He was choking her to death."

Mary Margaret stood up and appeared to be in shock. "Daniel? Her lover Daniel?"

My blood boiled a bit. It took me a minute to realize the feeling I was having was jealousy. "Yes."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"And what happened?"

"I saved her somehow. I don't know how or why but together, Regina and I somehow make magic work. It happened yesterday with Jefferson's hat and then again today, with Daniel. I don't know how to control it or even if this is all real. But if it is, somehow, Regina and I share something powerful. Something magical." I kept last night's dream to myself. Snow White might be my mother but something told me she didn't need to hear about my dreams on hooking up with the Evil Queen.

Mary Margaret sat back down on her bed and I stood up and paced a bit. I pulled off my jacket, revealing the simple tank top I was wearing underneath. "What is that?" Snow asked.

I turned to her. "What's what?"

She stood up and crossed the few feet between the beds and pointed to my left arm. "That."

I looked down and around mid-bicep on my arm was a strange mark. The mark looked like a burn that had long since healed and was almost back to the same color as the skin around it. "I have no idea. That wasn't there yesterday."

"It looks like…," she placed her hand over it and her fingers almost fit over it perfectly." It looks like a handprint."

Sometime later, in the silence and darkness of the night, as I lay in the bed lost amongst my thoughts of Henry and Regina, one last thought snuck in my head before sleep overtook me. _What is happening to me?_

* * *

"Regina!" I coughed some more, gasping as air rushed into my lungs. "Regina." I heard footsteps come running towards me and then hands grabbed me around the arms and hauled me up from the ground. "Are you ok?" David asked me, concern written all over his face.

I had to take a few deep breaths before I could even speak. "Where's Henry?" My voice came out strangled, sounding hoarse. "Where's my son?"

"He's hiding." He turned away and shouted, "Henry, its safe!" David turned back towards me. "Regina, what happened here? Where is Daniel?"

I pointed at the pile of dust sitting in front of me. "There's Daniel."

Little footsteps came running towards us and I turned around just in time for Henry to slam directly into me. "Mom!" He wrapped his arms around my middle, holding me tight. "I was so scared!" It was the first time he had willingly hugged me in a long time and at first, I was stunned. But then I bent down and picked him up like I had done so many times throughout his life. He was almost too big for me to lift up anymore. He cried into my shoulder. "I thought I was going to die."

"Henry, I will never let anything happen to you. I love you." I said, the tears pouring down my face. "You're my son." He held on tightly, just like a little koala bear. I used to call him that until one day he decided he was too old to be a koala bear. I smoothed his hair over and set him down. "You're alright Henry."

"Why don't you take Henry home?" David suggested. "I've got to go and find Henry's horse and then visit Dr. Whale anyway. If Henry would like to stay with you tonight, that's fine." He looked down at Henry. "Is that alright with you?"

I braced myself for his 'no' but he surprised me. "Yeah. I want to go home." He smiled up at me.

"Go and wait for me by the car and we will go home." Henry hugged me one more time and began walking towards the car. I hope the battery isn't dead, I randomly thought, before turning back to face Charming.

"Are you going to tell me what happened here?" He asked.

"I will, but not until tomorrow. Tomorrow we can meet. Tonight I am going to go home, make dinner for my son and be thankful that I am alive. And I hope you can respect that."

David nodded and I started to walk away. "Regina!" He called my name and I turned back to face him. "I'm glad you're ok. For Henry's sake."

"Thank you." I said and walked to where my son was waiting by the car, which thankfully, was still running. _Maybe Prince Charming does deserve his happiness after all._

Hours later, after I had made dinner for Henry and myself and had tucked him into bed, I laid in my own bed repeatedly going over the events of the day. I crawled out of my bed and walked down the hallway towards Henry's room. I opened the door and looked in, making sure he was safe and asleep. He didn't even stir as I peeked in so I shut the door and went back to my room, once more climbing into bed and tried to relax. Emma had saved me today. She had known I was in trouble and somehow she had come to my rescue. I tried to figure out how exactly our connection worked but there was still so much I didn't know about it. Long after midnight I finally drifted off to sleep, putting Daniel and the horrors of the day behind me.

* * *

Once again, basically a chapter to help me move on to my next part. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and approved of the Mark. Pretty soon I'm going to explain a lot more about the mar and such. Let me know what you guys are thinking, and all praises to my patient beta reader!

Dez.


	7. Nighttime Endeavors

Hey guys, sorry for the long delay. I'm actually on Vaca! Carrie Underwood concert. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

I sat up quickly, finding myself all alone in a room. It wasn't a room I recognized, so I wasn't sure what to make of it. I was sitting on a neatly made bed. Everything was white. The walls were white. The bed was white. Even the carpet was white. It was almost as if I had been dropped into a world devoid of color. As I began to take note of my surroundings, things began to change. The carpet on the floor became worn down wood. The walls changed from plain white paint to discolored, worn bricks. Two of the walls were plain red brick. The other two were mostly white but in some places the red brick underneath the white color showed through. A small throw rug appeared next to the bed. On either side of the bed small white bedside tables appeared. On one table was a lamp and on the other was a small old school alarm clock. The bedspread suddenly changed, turning into some kind of floral print with matching pillows. Lastly, windows appeared. I now knew where I was. This was my room in Mary Margaret's house. Nothing about it was my style but I had no say in decorating it. Mary Margaret had let me stay with her for free and I dared not complain about the decorations.

I remained on the bed wondering where I was or what I should do. From where I was sitting I could see out the window, but all that could be seen was a swirling greyish white fog enveloping everything. I walked towards my bedroom door and opened it, revealing the same colored fog just outside the door. I decided not to walk out of the room. Whatever magic was at work here, I didn't know how to control it, and I certainly didn't want to tamper with it. I put my head in my hands as I struggled to figure out how I had gotten here. What was I doing in this room? Where had I last been? As far as I knew, I had been asleep. Was I dreaming all of this? It didn't feel like a dream. Was it real? I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. My hands felt real on the bed. My heart pounded nervously in my chest. All of it felt real, but at the same time it seemed that there was too much magic involved for it to be.

"Emma?" My head suddenly jerked up. Standing in front of me, real as could be, was Regina.

"Regina?" I stood up quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"I have no idea." She looked around with obvious disdain written all over her face. "Where is here?"

I looked around a little sheepishly, following her gaze from the tarnished wood floor, to the chipped bricks, and finally to the outdated floral bedspread. "This is my bedroom at Mary Margaret's." I admitted, embarrassed.

"Oh. It has a certain…charm." Even as Regina glanced around my room, some of the room began to change. The walls turned to a slate grey color and the room itself expanded. The wood floor stayed but the bed grew, turning itself into a king size bed with a tasteful grey comforter that matched the walls. As the bed expanded in size the bedside tables remained on either side and moved themselves out as the bed grew. The windows remained where they were but the window frames themselves turned black. It was as if my bedroom had updated itself to more of Regina's style, making it a combination of a little bit mine and a little bit hers.

I looked at her. "Is this your doing?"

"What can I say? My style has a way of taking over." She smirked. "It's a nice update, isn't it?"

"Where are we, exactly?"

Regina sat down on the bed before answering me, crossing her legs and putting her hands on her knee. "I don't know. It is almost as if my consciousness has somehow combined with yours and created a mutual place for us to meet. I'm really supposed to be asleep right now."

"I am too." I murmured. I decided right then and there that the small talk was over. "Regina, what's happening to me? What's happening to us?" I was still entertaining the idea that I was crazy and that all of this was in my head.

"Would you like the short version or the long version?" She asked.

"I just want the truth."

Regina stood up and unbuttoned her blazer. I looked down at myself and saw that I was wearing a full dress with a leather half jacket thrown over it. _What the hell?_ I thought to myself. Regina was wearing a black skirt, a dark blue shirt and a grey blazer. She finished unbuttoning the blazer and pulled it off. "Do you see this?" She asked. It took me a full minute to see exactly what she was talking about. But then I saw it. On her right arm there was a mark that matched mine exactly.

"What is that?" I asked. "What is that from?"

"It's from you." She said quietly.

"Me? What do you mean, it's from me?" I asked, getting worked up.

"When you grabbed my arm we made Jefferson's hat work. This is where you grabbed my arm." She explained.

I took a step closer to Regina and placed my hand over the mark. She inhaled sharply. My hand fit the mark perfectly. "I don't understand. If that is from me, then who is this from?" I asked, taking off my jacket and showing her the mark on my left arm.

"I might just be guessing, but think this," She placed her hand on top of it, and it fit perfectly, "is from me."

I stared down at her hand on top of the mark, amazed. "How is this possible?"

"We've been Marked."

"Marked?" I looked away from Regina's hand where it still resided on my arm. "What the hell does that mean?"

Regina began to explain. "I went to see Rumplestiltskin today. I showed him this mark and he said the mark is an old form of magic. Not much is known about the type of magic except that it may be even more powerful than 'True Love'." She then ducked her head and mumbled the next sentence so that I couldn't hear her.

"What was that last thing you said?" I asked.

Regina picked her head back up and held herself stiffly and proudly. "Rumplestiltskin said that the mark can only occur between soul mates."

She then sat down heavily on the bed, finally letting go of my arm. My heart began to beat faster. "Soul mates? As in, you and I are supposed to be soul mates?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" Regina asked fiercely.

I didn't snap back at her. I knew her well enough by now to know that she always lashed out when she felt vulnerable. "No, it's not." I said softly. I then sat down next to her and took her hand in mine. "It sounds about right." I looked over at her and smiled.

"Emma, what are we going to do?" Regina asked. She looked distressed. "How will I get you back?"

"I'm right here." I said, immediately pulling her hand into my lap and holding it between both of mine. "Whatever this is, whatever this magic is, it will surely only help us. I explained. Tomorrow, Snow and I will begin our journey to the castle where I should have lived and been raised in -" I was suddenly overtaken by a surprising bout of sadness. My entire life wasn't what it should have been. I was finally in the land I was destined to be in and yet, I was dying to get back to the land I had really lived my life in.

"Emma, I am so sorry. I am sorry for everything. Regina explained sorrowfully. When I made the curse I didn't really consider anyone or anything else except _my_ pain. _My_ sorrow. _My_ need for revenge. And now that you exist and are trapped in a world that you are unfamiliar with…" She fought back tears. "I am so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

I was torn. I really shouldn't forgive her, ever. She had made Henry feel crazy. She had torn my parents apart and forced them to live their lives away from each other. Regina had taken every fairytale character and had given them mundane magic-less lives. And yet, all I could think to say was, "Yes, I can. I do forgive you." Regina then gripped one of my hands tightly within her own. I suddenly pried my hand from hers and gently took her face between my hands. "I know you are sorry. I know you have many regrets. But right now we need to figure out how to open a portal and get back to Storybrooke. How is Henry? What happened today?" I was ranting and suddenly I remembered something important. "I met Cora."

* * *

I quickly jumped off the bed and stood facing Emma. "Do not trust her. I shouted. Everything I am, everything I've ever been, all of the 'bad' comes from her. She killed my first love. She literally ripped out his heart. I vowed that I would never become her but that was exactly what I did. I became her. Actually, I may have been worse than she was. I vowed to never let anyone be truly happy again..." I finally stopped and took a breath. "You must be extremely wary of her. Do not let her know anything of importance. Don't let her know of the connection we have. Get as far away from her as you possibly can." I took a deep breath and met Emma's eyes. "No matter how cruel I have been to you, she can be far worse. She will destroy everyone you love and she will feel absolutely no remorse."

"Regina, I will not underestimate your mother. Emma explained hesitantly. I already don't trust her."

"Yes, but this is more than just simple distrust. Regina explained carefully. You should feel tremendous fear simply by the site of her. Only after you really feel that fear will you truly begin to understand how to deal with her. Those that don't fear her end up underestimating her. And then, they die." Tears began to well up in my eyes. The loss of Daniel, which I had never even come close to accepting, was suddenly fresh in my mind.

"Regina." Emma stood up quickly, immediately pulling me close to her. "I will get back to you, somehow." I smoothly placed my arms around her neck and just for a moment I allowed myself to feel vulnerable. Then I immediately stepped out of her arms. I didn't need for Emma to believe I was weaker than I already felt. She looked at me as the hurt clouded her eyes.

"I am sorry." I said quietly. "I do not mean to act this way. It is very difficult for me to be so open." I placed a hand on Emma's cheek, momentarily allowing myself just to enjoy the contact. "Do you think it's true? I inquired. Do you really think we could be soul mates?" I had already come to the conclusion in my own mind that we were but I needed to hear it from her perspective.

"I know we are." Emma smiled shyly as she answered me. "There is no doubt in my mind that we belong together." She smiled a huge smile at me and my heart fluttered when as she leaned her forehead against mine. "Henry will be thrilled with this." Gently, she pushed a lock of hair that had fallen into my eyes behind my ear and just stared at me.

"The plan that you and Snow White have; how effective do you think it is? What exactly do you hope to find in the castle when you arrive?"

"The wardrobe." Emma replied. "We hope that the wardrobe I originally came through from Fairy Tale Land still exists."

Emma pulled back from me a little, taking my hands in hers as we discussed the plans. She acted as if her actions were the most normal ever, and for her, I suppose they were. "Is there any hope for the wardrobe to be there and be intact? I inquired. What is the plan if the wardrobe no longer exists?"

"We have no other plan." Emma stated as she stared down at my hands. "If it is not there and has been destroyed I don't really know what we will do. Actually, even if it is there we still don't know what we're going to do with it."

I wracked my brain, trying to focus on the problem at hand and not on the fact that I loved Emma holding my hands. "Uh…" I said, quite distractedly before shaking my head and trying to refocus. "I bet fairy dust could help reactivate the wardrobe, if the wardrobe still exists." I thought out loud.

"Fairy dust?" Emma laughed. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Sadly, I am not. Fairy dust has magical properties that most of us do not even understand. But I know one of those properties entails the ability to travel between worlds. If you can find a magical vessel, then fairy dust can guide you. There are other possibilities as well." I explained. "Magic beans, which guide you between worlds based upon the thoughts in your mind, fairy godmothers who grant wishes with wands…" I paused, contemplating for a moment. "I'm not sure whether or not fairy godmothers have the ability to control travel between realms but that is one possibility you can look into if the wardrobe is indeed gone."

Emma sat down on the bed wearily. "So you want me to look for fairies, magic beans, and fairy godmothers?" She asked with an adorable look of shock on her face.

I thought for a second about her question and backtracked. "Actually, maybe not fairy godmothers. They're usually assigned to you at birth. You may or may not have one."

She looked at me strangely. "Fairy godmothers? Like godmothers?"

"Yes. That is where the title originates from. Unless I'm mistaken, your godmother is actually Red."

"Red?"

"Yes, as in Red Riding Hood. The Red Riding Hood with the wolf. I explained. That story does not quite play out in the way it is retold in your world. The wolf and your mother were best friends."

"My godmother is Little Red Riding Hood…" She let that sentence just hang in the air. "There is just too much to take in."

"I know." I replied quietly, "But you have to understand as much about that world as possible in order to survive there. Sometimes things were very dangerous in that world. Rules and laws are quite different there. There are creatures that exist that will attack you. I did not take every living being from Fairy Tale Land and just bring them with me to Storybrooke. So please promise me, whatever you do, you will be extremely careful, I implored."

Emma looked up at me, trying to hide her laugh, but failing to. "Regina, my godmother is Little Red Riding Hood." She started to laugh louder. I realized she was becoming hysterical. I froze on the spot for a moment as her laughing continued. The laughing was becoming progressively louder with no signs of ceasing. So I did the only thing I could think of. I slapped her right across the face. The sharp sound of my hand on her cheek was immediately followed by a short period of silence. "Thank you." She breathed.

"Don't mention it." I replied. I sat down beside her on the bed. "It appears that we will be linked together like this every night. It could prove to be very useful."

I turned to look at Emma and noticed that she was giving me the strangest look. "That's it? You just think this is useful?" I sputtered a bit, unsure of the response I was supposed to provide and unsure of the one she was looking for. It seemed that she didn't really need a response though because she simply laughed, leaned in and kissed me. It was the kind of kiss that takes your breath away and clears your head. I could feel her smiling against my lips and I reached out to pull her closer to me. Just as my hands settled on her waist, she disappeared altogether, leaving me suddenly cold and alone. I immediately opened my eyes, though I needed no confirmation that she was really gone. I could simply tell by the emptiness of the room and the deafening sound of my own harsh breathing that she was indeed gone. I sighed angrily and laid there and waited until it was time for me to wake up as well.


	8. The Castle

Sorry it's been taking me so long to update recently, but here we are! Also, most of my story picks up exactly where Season two starts, but pretend for the sake of my writing that Belle was never returned to Rumplestiltskin. He sent the wraith after her because he can, not because he discovered Belle. Thanks!

* * *

I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Emma would do everything she could to get back from Fairy Tale Land and I needed to do whatever I could to help her. Doing that would take some kind of leverage. And to gain that kind of leverage I would have to "right" something that had been wrong for a long time. I dressed slowly, dreading what was coming. I rubbed my throat a few times which was still sore and bruised from Daniel's unforgiving hands. The thought of Daniel was enough to solidify my resolve. I made a quick trip to the hospital before traveling to Rumplestiltskin's shop. Outside the door I gathered myself, taking a moment or two before entering.

"What do you want?" He demanded harshly. "I am doing no dealing today."

I replied back quietly. "I am not here to deal."

"Oh? I heard about your reunion with Daniel, dearie. Tragic. If you're looking for me to bring him back, let me quickly remind you that I cannot do that. That takes science." He mumbled, almost to himself. "Apparently though, only magic could restore Viktor's arm." He chuckled. "So what are you here for?"

"I am here for you." I said simply.

"For me? What could you possibly offer me?"

"Long ago, in our land, I took something from you, and after recent events, "I thought of losing both Daniel and Emma in the past two days, "I now regret the decision I made years ago. I am sorry for taking it and I wish to return it."

He eyed me suspiciously. "What could you have possibly taken that would make you feel any kind of remorse? I was unaware that you even had a heart, dearie. I thought maybe your mother had claimed your heart as her own." He laughed at his own joke.

I sighed and gritted my teeth, ignoring his jibe. I then leaned out the door of the shop and called out. "Come here my dear. I won't hurt you." The girl hesitated before stepping shyly into the shop. I hadn't told her where we were going, just that she needed to trust me. No wonder she was hesitant.

"Belle?" Rumple gasped, stepping towards her as quickly as he could with his cane. He grabbed her shoulder, almost as if he wasn't sure she was actually real.

"Rumplestiltskin." Belle breathed as she threw her arms around his shoulders.

"I am so sorry Belle." Rumple stumbled as he spoke quickly. "For pushing you away. For not knowing you were here. I am so sorry." His eyes welled with tears, and I looked away, realizing that I was intruding on a private moment. I quietly backed out of the shop, making my way to the car. Before I could get in I heard the shop door quickly open again. "Regina!" Rumplestiltskin called, drawing my attention. "Do not think I owe you anything for this. You have done me no favors." His voice was cold, and I could only imagine the feelings of hatred he was trying to contain for Belle's sake, as she was standing behind him with her hand on his shoulder.

"I know." I replied simply, getting in my car as I prepared to leave the two of them alone. "I know." I repeated to myself in the car as I drove away.

* * *

"Emma, get up." Snow shook me. "Come on. It's time to go." I sat up, groggy, and tried my best not to snap back at her. She couldn't possibly know that she had ripped me from Regina's arms, and something told me she wouldn't want to know that either. The 'Mom, Dad, I'm in love with the evil queen who tried to kill you and destroyed your happiness' conversation would have to wait for some time in the future. Hopefully, much, much, later. I tried to hide the smirk that came to my face. I finally find my parents, who are Prince Charming and Snow White, and I fall in love with their Evil Queen. _Shit. In love?_ I questioned myself. There had been no love in my life since my disastrous relationship with Neal. My palms began to sweat. Snow shook me from me from my reverie. "Emma, we need to go." I followed her from the shack to where Mulan and Aurora were waiting for us.

"Aurora will be traveling with us. She is my responsibility, so she will be with me at all times." Mulan's tone made it clear that we were not to argue about this. She then opened a large trunk next to her. "From here you may take anything. I may be a warrior, but if we are attacked I cannot protect all of you alone."

Snow looked into the trunk and grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I looked in the trunk after her and grabbed a leather scabbard with a handle sticking out of it. I grabbed the handle, drawing a sword from it. The handle itself was ornately carved and decorated, as if it'd been created for royalty. The blade was golden. I looked at myself in the reflection, wondering who would waste so much gold on a sword. I then put it back into the scabbard and looked back inside the trunk once more. Inside the trunk was a thick, leather shirt. I pulled it on over my tank top, sliding my arms through the arm holes. It was sleeveless, with three cinches down the front and a collar which made it look like a button down shirt. I did the ties and looped the belt to the leather scabbard around my waist. I looked up and saw Snow staring at me. "What?" I asked defensively.

"It's just..." She paused and then smiled at me. "You remind me of your father." She wiped away a stray tear while I looked away, embarrassed. It was just too strange for me to accept having a mother and father who actually care.

"If you are ready, we must begin. It is a full day's journey." Mulan stated, again, all business. We followed her to the outside of camp, past guard towers and past groups of men who bowed their heads with respect to Mulan. She must truly be quite the warrior if all these men could respect her so. We walked to a paddock on the edge of the camp. Mulan turned toward us and explained - "We can only take two horses. The camp can spare no more. Aurora will ride with me. Snow White and Emma, you can share one." She then slipped a bridle over the head of a white horse and handed the reins to Aurora. She handed another bridle to Snow. Snow slipped the bridle over the head of a brown horse as he whinnied softly.

"What do you expect me to do with this?" I looked the animal up and down fearfully. "If it doesn't have an engine, I don't ride it."

"What is an engine?" Aurora asked.

"It's a kind of…machine. It runs cars." Snow responded.

"What is a car?" Mulan asked.

"It doesn't matter. Emma, you are riding this horse." Snow demanded.

"Thanks_, Mom_." I laid on the sarcasm. "But no thanks. I am walking. And where the hell is the saddle for this beast anyway?"

Mulan rolled her eyes. "We have very limited supplies. We can't spare saddles for everyone. Aurora and I are not using a saddle either."

"You had saddles yesterday!"

"And they've been taken out by a hunting party today!" Mulan explained, exasperated. "We are taking horses. We are not taking saddles. This is your quest. If you are afraid to ride, we simply will not go." Mulan hoisted herself up onto her horse and then reached behind her to give Aurora a hand.

"I am not afraid." I answered indignantly. Snow jumped easily onto the horse, settling herself onto its broad back.

"Come on Emma," she coaxed me, reaching a hand towards me.

"Come on." I groaned. "Do I really have to ride you bitch?"

"Emma!" She reproached me. "Do you really have to use that language?"

"If I have to ride bitch, then yes." I reached for her hand, hoisting myself up ungracefully and struggled to find a comfortable position on the horse. None of the positions were comfortable. I wasn't used to having things between my legs and I already knew by the end of the day that I would be very sore. I tentatively put my arm around Snow's waist as the beast began to move. "Are you absolutely sure that there is no way to avoid riding on this?"

"I'm sure," she shouted back over the commotion of the men around us. They opened the gate to allow us out of the paddock. As soon as she was free from the gate Mulan brought her horse into a full speed run. I had barely a second to tighten my grip on Mary Margaret before she urged our horse to catch up with Mulan's horse. As the horse moved and rocked under me I became more and more uncomfortable. _It's going to be a long day_, I thought miserably to myself.

* * *

When I got home it was still early in the morning, but I knew Henry would already be awake. "Henry?" I called, wondering where he was. Then I realized that I heard voices in the kitchen. "Henry, are you all right?" I dropped my coat on the table in the foyer and hurried into the kitchen, where I found Henry and David sitting at the kitchen table with cups of cocoa. "Charming." I greeted him coolly with a nod of the head. I refrained from sneering at him, remembering that right now he was in charge of Henry and could take him away from me at any time.

"Regina." David greeted me in kind.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"You said we could talk tomorrow, and its tomorrow. I was hoping we could have that chat now."

I sighed. "I suppose that I have some free time now." I said coolly, my mind already racing for an explanation that would solve David's curiosity. "Henry, why don't you go up to your room and play while your grandfather and I talk?" David looked taken aback at the word 'grandfather' and I relished in his surprise for a moment.

"What about my hot chocolate?" Henry looked sadly at his almost full cup.

"You can take it up to your room."

"Really?"

"Yes, but if you spill it, I will lock you up there like Rapunzel in her tower." I threatened. Henry looked shocked, and I quickly backtracked. "Don't look at me like that Henry; I never locked Rapunzel in a tower. Her father did it." He still looked scared. "I was only kidding! I will not lock you in your room, I promise."

He quickly picked up his drink and ran up the stairs with a look on his face I couldn't quite place. "Good job with that one, _Your Majesty_."

"Oh please. You are the one that put your daughter in a box and shipped her to Maine."

"You know," he looked at me with a thin smile on his face, "You keep using that line, and it gets less effective each time." He laughed as I sat down on the chair across from him. There was a moment of awkward silence as we looked at each other.

"So…" I began and then paused.

"So..." He added, waiting for me to continue.

"What exactly do you want to know?" I asked wearily.

"What happened to Daniel?"

"He was turned to dust."

"I am aware of that Regina. What I want to know is how. I thought you weren't using magic."

"I'm not." I turned my head and looked out the window, away from him. "What happened yesterday…I didn't really do it."

"Regina." He said shortly, drawing my attention back to him. "If you didn't do it, who did?"

I looked deep into his eyes and tried to imagine the trust he implicitly gave to other people. The love he had for Snow White, and even for Emma, his daughter. I sighed again, admitting defeat. He would have to know some of the truth, if not all of it. "Emma did."

"What?" He leapt from his chair, looking around as if he expected to find that I was hiding her in the cupboards. "What do you mean?" He suddenly reclaimed his chair as he realized she couldn't possibly be here.

"Emma has magic. It's the kind of magic that I don't really understand and I know she doesn't understand it either."

"How do you know she doesn't? Have you spoken to her?"

"In a manner of speaking. Using her powers Emma can send her consciousness and her magic across realms. She can speak with me here."

"Why does she talk with you? And why doesn't she speak with me? I'm her father!"

I laughed quietly, partially because he was taking this better than I had expected and partially because I really needed a moment to cover up the awkwardness of the situation. "I don't really know." I paused with my explanation and tried to come up with an excuse. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I enacted the curse and she was the one to break it. Magic has powerful rules and laws that we don't always understand. Magic that powerful is bound to have effects I could not have simply predicted. Emma's magic may have been one of them."

"Maybe… but I still don't understand what Emma has to do with Daniel."

"Yesterday when Daniel was choking me, I was terrified. I thought I was going to die. And so, in my mind, I called for Emma. It was an errant thought, really, but she entered my consciousness and then turned Daniel to dust. She used her magic but it went through my hands. On my own, right now, I have no magic." I opened my hands in a placating gesture, as if to emphasize the truth in what I was saying.

"You called to her…" He seemed to be trying to connect the two thoughts and he still could not grasp the situation. "How did you know you could call her name and she would answer?"

"Over the past few days Emma and I have had odd…moments where we've been truly connected. It appears that whenever one of us is truly afraid, the other can feel it. I first became aware of this situation two days ago…when Emma met Cora for the first time." I then braced myself for his explosion, and sure enough, he did not disappoint.

"Cora!?" He burst up from his chair and knocked it across the floor. "Emma and Snow are with your mother?" He then froze for a moment. "How is Snow?" He asked warily.

"From what I gather through Emma, they are both fine." I pursed my lips, staring pointedly down at the chair on its side on the floor. He followed my line of sight and sheepishly picked up the chair and righted it. He didn't sit back down in it, though.

"Are you sure?" He asked, suddenly pacing back and forth. "Did Emma say anything about them being in danger? Would you even know if they were in danger?"

"Yes, I believe I would. When Emma is afraid, I can feel it. And I have felt nothing from her since her meeting my mother."

He froze in his pacing. "I thought Cora was supposed to be dead."

"As did I. It appears that my mother is much more cunning then I ever gave her credit for." I paused. "She will stop at nothing to destroy everything I love."

"And what do you love?" He scoffed. "Surely you do not love this town."

"I love-" I suddenly froze, stopping myself before saying something foolish. "Henry. I love Henry. He may be your grandson, but he is still my son."

He sat in the chair again, trying to calm down. "Of course you do. I am sorry Regina. No matter what has happened, I do know you love Henry." He put his head in his hands. "And my wife and my daughter…I love them. I have to get them back."

"They're really working on it, Charming." I felt obligated to put my hand on his arm as a show of sympathy. "Do not worry. If there is one thing I have learned through all of this, it is that you and Snow will always find each other." He looked up at me, half smiling. "When Emma and I are sleeping, for some unknown reason, we can communicate. Emma told me last night that she and Snow are traveling to your castle to see if the old wardrobe is there. If it is, they hope to reactivate it. So there is some hope."

He reached out and patted my hand. "Thank you Regina."

I quickly straightened, therefore, ending the moment. "Well, I have told you everything you wanted to know." He looked from the kitchen and then back to the dining room, to where the two of us had eaten dinner just a few weeks before. The blush appearing on his cheeks told me where his mind had gone. "That was a mistake Charming, I stated quietly. One that I would appreciate not being mentioned to anyone."

"Never." He returned his attention back to me. "My daughter is the savior. She works magic that transverses realms." He shook his head, smiling softly. "My daughter." He repeated again, as if he were trying out the words on for size. "I have a daughter." He smiled again and tears began to well up in his eyes. "I need to get them back Regina. I will do whatever it takes."

"As will I." I replied. "I too, will do anything it takes to bring them back."

"You will?" He looked at me, the gleaming tears still in his eyes. I tried to suppress the anger that was threatening to boil over. "Why?" He questioned me.

"I made a promise to Henry." I paused, wondering how he would take the words, _'I love your daughter.'_ What came out instead was, "I wish to redeem myself."

David stood up and rinsed his cup out in the sink and removed his jacket from the back of the chair. "Good. Because I lost my daughter and my wife while they were saving you." He didn't say this cruelly, just as a statement of fact. "I just want them back." He walked to the door slowly and I followed him from the kitchen. He stopped at the front door and turned back to me. "Henry and I agreed that he will stay with you. Just don't go around trying to choke anyone with wallpaper."

"As long as you promise not to agree to letting anymore wraiths come after me."

"Deal." He offered me a genuine smile before shutting the front door behind him.

I turned from the door to see Henry standing at the top of stairs. He had an abashed look on his face, as if he'd been caught in the act. I put my hands in the pockets of my blazer. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked him quietly.

"The entire time." He admitted, looking ashamed. "I heard everything." He came down the stairs, stopping two or three steps from the bottom so that he was standing eye level with me. "Can you really talk to Emma?"

I sighed loudly. This was most certainly not a conversation I wanted to have with Henry. "It is complicated, but yes, I can speak with her."

"Why?"

"Henry, you of all people should know magic is unpredictable."

"Like when you put me under the sleeping curse after I was the one to eat the apple tart?"

"Yes, and I am very sorry for that. You do know that don't you?"

"You're only sorry because it was really meant for Emma." The sullen tone he now took with me was one I well deserved, but I struggled to control the anger that rose within me. I took a deep breath before answering him.

"Henry, I know it is very difficult for you to believe me, but a lot has changed since then. I know that it has only been a few days since I made that big mistake, but I do love you. I love you more than anything and I will do everything I can to get your mom back."

He looked taken back at my words, almost as if he doubted my sincerity. "But, you're my mom too." It wasn't an argument with what I had said, just a simple statement to add to my words.

"I know that Emma is your mom as well," I replied quietly, "and that you want us both. I have spent the past year being angry, hateful and deceitful. I promise you though Henry, I will get Snow and Emma back."

"You promise?" He asked as the innocence in his voice shone through; the true innocence that comes with childhood and leaves with maturity.

"I promise. I may have once been the Evil Queen, but I do not wish to be her any longer." I replied

Henry jumped down the last few stairs and threw his arms around my waist. "Thank you Mom." He sighed happily.

"Anything for you Henry," I replied, while at the same time racking my brain for ways to convince this town that I was indeed changing. "I would do anything for you." I once again murmured.

* * *

I quickly jumped off the horse as we stopped in front of the castle and began to walk bow-legged. "I haven't felt this sore since that night I spent with -" I choked off the rest of that sentence and reminded myself that I was no longer with my friend Mary Margaret, but my mother, Snow White. "In the gym. Since I spent that night in the gym." I recovered most ungracefully as the three women continued to stare at me.

"What exactly is a gym?" Aurora asked, confused.

"I'll explain later. Should we begin to do something? It's getting dark outside." Snow White continued to eye me warily, as if she was considering questioning me. _Please, someone else answer my question. Please. _I thought to myself.

Mulan answered my silent prayer. "We will gather torches and enter the castle. We are already here so it would not be wise to wait until tomorrow." She pulled two stones out of one of her saddle bags, along with some kind of liquid. "Find something we can use for the torches." She advised us.

Snow, Aurora and I scoured the large area in front of the castle. I tried to imagine the castle in all its glory, with knights walking around and preparing themselves for battle. Or simply the day to day business of a kingdom; as in meeting with the citizens of a nearby town. There were old torches hanging on the walls by the gate. Aurora grabbed two and Snow and I each grabbed one, taking them to where Mulan was waiting. She had tied the horses to an old metal fixture in front of the castle. It reminded me of a bike rack, though I could only imagine it had been invented for horses. Mulan poured the liquid she held into each of the torches, then took the two rocks, which I assumed were flint and hit them together until the sparks ignited one of Aurora's torches. Mulan used this torch to light the rest. When we all had a lit torch in our hands Mulan turned back towards us. "Are you ready?" She inquired.

"Of course I am. This is my home." Snow replied. She fell in step with Mulan. Together the two of them led the way through the castle, Mulan with her sword drawn, making sure each hallway was clear, and Snow directing her as to where to go. Aurora and I followed the two of them, remaining silent. She kept giving me sidelong glances. Just as I was about to shout at her to stop, Snow turned around with a huge smile on her face. "We're here."

She pushed open a large door, which opened very quietly, especially considering how long it had been since it had last been opened. Snow stepped in quietly, almost reverently, while reaching back to take my hand as she led me into the room. "Wow," was all I could manage to say. The room we had entered was huge. There was a large circular portion of the room with the remains of a crib at the center of it. The wood almost looked blue but it was difficult to tell the true color with the toll time had taken on it. There were bookshelves all around the room, full of old and rotting books. I stepped closer to one of the bookshelves, attempting to see the words on the books. The titles had simply worn off all of them, though I could see some leftover letters and small paintings of animals on the sides. There was a large bucket of toys. The toys were all the things a baby would appreciate, like small stuffed animals and little blocks. On shelves around the room were wooden animals. They appeared to be hand carved. "Wow." I said for a second time. There wasn't much more that I could say. This room, now a complete wreckage of time had once been truly grand twenty eight years ago.

"Your father and I spent months preparing this room for you. Even after we knew you would not grow up here we continued to decorate it. We hoped that maybe, somehow, you would return and still grow up here."

I moved towards the second, smaller part of the grand room, where a large tree appeared to be growing in the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the tree was actually a carved wardrobe, complete with a door in the front. I opened it and looked inside to where it had been hollowed out. "So this is it?" I asked. "This is the magic wardrobe?"

"Yes. Emma, it is. We had never intended for you to be all alone in it, though." Snow's eyes began to tear up, the wetness glistening in the flames from our torches. "When the wardrobe was completed I was scheduled to travel in it, still pregnant with you, to the new world. But you were born too early. You were born just before Geppetto finished carving it." She wiped a lone tear from her cheek. "There was only enough magic available in the wardrobe to send one person through. And after you were born, we were then two people. I wanted to go with you so badly but we couldn't risk your safety. Your father and I wanted so much more for you. You were to take your first steps in this room. You would have prepared for your first ball in here. Your many suitors would have come calling to this castle where your father would have intimidated them and I would have had to talk him down. You would have married for love, no matter what the other kingdoms made their princes and princesses do." Another tear spilled over and she quickly wiped this one away too. I then let go of her hand and looked around the room. "Emma?" Snow said softly. "Please say something."

I looked over to where Aurora and Mulan were standing by the door, obviously feeling like they were intruding on a private moment. I looked down at my feet which were blurring under the weight of my own tears. "I never understood." I started to utter quietly. "In twenty eight years, I never really understood. How could my parents have been so selfish? How could they have cared for me, actually knit me a blanket with such care, and then abandoned me?" Some of my old anger began to seep into my voice.

"Emma-" Snow started.

I immediately held up my hand and Snow stopped talking. "I never really understood what you had lost too. You both gave up…" And I choked on the words, threatening to become overwhelmed by my tears. "Everything. You gave up _everything_ for me." I tried to take a deep breath. "So I need some time. I just need a little time to accept that I wasn't truly abandoned. No one in my life has ever put me first."

Snow stepped over me and placed her arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "Emma, we will _always_ put you first." She replied. "And when we get back to Storybrooke, we will all be a family."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Snow. All I had ever wanted was to be loved; and to have a family. And now, here was my mother, promising me exactly that. If I hadn't already been motivated to return to Storybrooke, I certainly would be now. A small voice in the back of my mind muttered, _'And what about Regina?'_ I pushed that thought away quickly, storing it in a place for things I would think about later. "So…Mom…" I tried that word seriously for the first time. "How do we get this thing to work again?"

Snow continued to smile at me. "That, Emma, is the question we must find an answer for."

Mulan immediately cut in. "If we don't have a plan to operate this wardrobe immediately, I suggest that we attempt it tomorrow then. It is well past dark and I wish to set up camp before the torches go out. We know the wardrobe is still here. We have all the time in the world to figure out how to operate it."

I was very eager to get home to Storybrooke, but arguing with Mulan was not something I wished to engage in just yet. Snow agreed with Mulan so we followed Mulan and Aurora back into the entry hall, where we laid out all the furs we could gather to build small beds for all of us. Mulan and Aurora built one large bed, where Aurora laid down and Mulan sat up to watch over her. I lay down on my back on top of my pile of furs right next to Mary Margaret, who reached out and grabbed my hand. "We will get back to Charming and Henry as soon as possible." With that reassurance, I soon fell asleep.

* * *

I stood in Rumplestiltskin's shop and held my mother's book in my hands. "I know I am the last person you wish to see right now, but I require your help. Please." I began.

"I am still not making any deals today." The coldness in his voice told me this was likely a lost cause, but I had to try.

"Rumplestiltskin, please." I implored. I do not ever beg but today I was prepared to. "I can understand why you are angry with me." I stated quietly.

"Can you dearie? Can you really now?" He sneered back at me. "Have you had someone you loved ripped away from you? Have you ever been unable to get to the one person that you would ultimately change for?"

I lowered my head. "Yes." I replied quietly. He faltered for a moment. "I know you have no reason to care about me." I began to speak again. "In fact, you'd love to see me suffer. But Henry…"

"What about Henry?" He demanded.

"Henry should not have to suffer for my mistakes. His mother and grandmother are trapped in Fairy Tale Land. He loves and misses Emma. I must return her to him."

Rumplestiltskin stalked around the counter, getting as close to me as humanly possible. "Are you trying to play upon my sympathies, dearie? As if my pity for Henry will change my hatred for you? Vengeance is coming, and you would do well to prepare for it."

The curtain in the back suddenly opened. "Rumplestiltskin." The strong accent drew the attention of both Rumple and I. "Help her."

"But Belle." The tone he took with her was definitely unfamiliar to me. Never before had I heard him speak to anyone with such tenderness. "She had you locked away for twenty eight years. I thought you were dead."

"But I'm not." Belle replied. "And revenge only makes the heart grow cold. Do not allow me to just get you back to you, only to lose you again. Don't be the same cold man you've been. Please." She then walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Please do it for me."

Rumplestiltskin sighed. "Do not be fooled Regina. He addressed me angrily. I do nothing for you. I owe you nothing. I wish, more than anything, to be able to deny you your _soul mate_." He spit the words at me and I was reminded that he knew what was really between Emma and me. "I will help Henry, Emma, and Snow. But in the future, you owe me a favor." I nodded. "Ok then, let me see that book and I will show you your best shot in getting them back."

* * *

So how's that? I'm already beginning the next chapter, so I hope to have this next update to you soon! Reviews?


	9. Our Best Shot

Well, here's another chapter, a short one, setting up the last one/two chapters of my story. So yes, it's ending soon! Read on!

* * *

That night I arrived at the room before Emma did. This time it was purely mine. The grey comforter, the dark carpet and the neatly organized room, all mine. I walked to the window that should have looked down over my backyard, but where I expected to see my manicured backyard and my prized apple tree there was instead a swirling thick fog. I ran my hand through my hair, shaking out my bangs. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine my backyard, hoping I could somehow superimpose the image into this dream state. I opened them again, and the scene outside hadn't changed. The fog was as thick as ever. I folded my arms and stared at it, as if my anger alone could change it.

"Regina?" My heart leapt and I turned around as the room began to change. If not for the way Emma demanded my complete attention just by being present, I probably would have been fascinated by the sudden change.

"Emma," I breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping my arms around her neck as she wrapped hers around my waist. We stayed like that for a moment. As fake as this world may be, everything in it felt real. Emma smelled faintly of cinnamon, and she felt warm against me. I scrunched my face up, holding back tears and holding on as tightly to Emma as I could. She pulled back from me, holding my face in her hands.

"Are you ok? Is everything alright in Storybrooke? What about Henry?" She rattled off question after question, and before I could answer, she kissed me softly. I felt all the pain and tension of the day melt away, and I knew that in her arms was where I needed to be, forever and always.

"I'm fine. Henry's fine. Your father took him away from me, but after the disaster with Daniel, Henry came back. He made me promise to help you. Of course I made that promise. I'll do anything to get you back." She caressed the side of my face. "I made that promise mostly for him. But for me too." She kissed me again. "Your father came to see me today."

"Charming? What for? Did he do something to you?"

"Relax, Miss Swan." I fell easily back into my old manner of speaking to her. "He had questions about what happened to Daniel. I had to tell him that you helped and that you have magic."

"Did you tell him how we connect?" She had moved her hands down to my shoulders, keeping a grip on me.

"No, of course not. _You're_ going to tell your father about us. I want nothing to do with the Charming family drama." I goaded Emma a bit, but she smiled at me anyways, pulling me to her again.

"I'm so not doing that." She was defiant, like a child.

I laughed. "Oh, you're definitely doing that if you want to be with me." She smiled back at me, and I knew she did. "So where are you right now?" I didn't have to explain to her what I meant. She knew I was asking about Fairy Tale Land.

"I'm with Mulan, Aurora and Snow outside of my family's castle. We're resting for the night before we try to activate the wardrobe tomorrow."

"So you found the wardrobe? It's still there?" My heart skipped a beat.

"It is. We only just looked at it though. It was getting dark. I saw my nursery." I could hear the emotion in her voice.

"So you haven't tried to activate it?"

"No. We haven't even discussed it yet."

"Today I visited Rumplestiltskin, and he had an idea." I paused, looking for the words to explain.

"What is it?" She asked eagerly, holding both my hands in hers.

"Rumplestiltskin said that powerful magic leaves a mark. This mark can't always be seen, but it can be felt. Where there have been portals between lands, new portals can be opened up easier."

"So what you're saying is…"

"What I'm saying is that if you can find an old portal in Fairy Tale Land, and I can find an old portal here in Storybrooke, we can use our magic to open it and get you home."

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not. But it's the best shot we have."

"We don't have any fairy dust." Emma sighed.

"I know we don't. But Rumplestiltskin has a theory about that. He thinks that if we try and open the portal to each other, instead of to lands, that we can manage it. He expects that our magic will be able to bring us together, as it will guide us much like fairy dust guides other travelers."

"Do you think this will work?" She asked me, eyes downcast. I took a deep breath, wondering whether I should lie to her or not. _I don't know. I just don't know._ I thought to myself.

* * *

"I think it's the best we can do for now." The look in Regina's eyes very plainly said to me that this wasn't our best shot, it was our _only_ shot.

"We don't have a backup plan, do we?"

"Not yet. But if this works, we won't _need_ one." A little desperation was creeping into Regina's voice, and that concerned me. She never got desperate.

"What are you so afraid of?" I asked Regina, expecting a cocky answer of 'nothing.' She surprised me.

"I'm afraid of losing you." She sighed, pulling away from me just a bit. "My mother is alive, Emma, and you don't know just how scary that is for me." She paused, as if steeling herself for what she had to say next. "I tried to have her killed. I thought she was dead. I'm still not sure how she's alive, but she is. And she will kill you if she knows what you mean to me. My mother thinks love is weakness. But you, you and Henry, you've taught me something. It's strength."

"You tried to have your mother killed?" I asked in disbelief. I'd been dying to have a mother my entire life, and Regina had been dying not to. I asked the question I couldn't resist. "How?"

"I banished her to Wonderland when I was a teenager. Sometime after that, well into adulthood, I sent a man into Wonderland after her. He had a hook, which I enchanted so he could rip out her heart."

"A hook? He just carried a hook with him?" I laughed at the ridiculous image.

"No, actually, it was his hand." She smiled knowingly at me. "You may have heard of him actually. He goes by Hook. Captain Hook."

I was beginning to feel like Regina loved dropping these bombs on me. "Captain Hook. Really?" I laughed again. "So I'm traveling with Sleeping Beauty and Mulan and Snow White and Prince Charming who are also my parents, Red Riding Hood, who is actually a wolf, is my godmother, and Captain Hook tried to kill your mother who resides in Wonderland?"

"Well yes, actually, that sounds about right."

"Actually, it sounds like all the Disney writers that have ever existed smoked pot and then wrote my life story."

"Disney?"

"Don't you watch TV? Jeez Regina, this curse locked you in your own little bubble, didn't it?"

"I couldn't risk anyone exiting or entering my little bubble, Miss Swan." She said my name sarcastically, in that way of hers that I'd come to love. "Any person coming through could have been the savior, come to break the curse."

"Lots of good that did you, didn't it? How's keeping that curse going?" I asked her, joking.

"Miss Swan, don't you know?"

"What?"

Regina stopped smiling, putting her arms around my neck again, and whispered in my ear. "Having you break that curse was the best thing that ever happened to me."

I held her tighter, never wanting to break the embrace, knowing in my mind that if we can't open a portal, these stolen nights could be what we're doomed to. "Regina, I have to tell you something." I backed out of her arms, facing the wall.

"Emma?" Her concerned voice assaulted my ears. "Emma, what is it?"

I tried to form the words, but an 'I love you' just wasn't coming out. So I settled for another truth. "I'm not sure if I can control my magic on command." I sighed, realizing I had wimped out.

"You can Emma." She turned me around to face her. "When I called you, you did what needed to be done. I know you can."

"And you? Can you control magic at will?"

"For some reason, magic does not flow from me as it does you. But tomorrow, I will have the magic I need. Emma. We must make a plan. For this to work, we need to attempt to open the portals at the exact same time."

"How will I know when to open it? There aren't exactly working clocks in Fairy Tale Land." She laughed. "Maybe I'll find a digital watch in some store." Regina laughed at me again.

"Noon." She said. "Noon is the right time. The sun will be directly overhead, and then you'll know it's time." She paused. "And if you're not totally sure, ask Mulan. She will know how to tell time."

"Noon." I repeated. "How will we communicate with each other?"

"I think if we're afraid, we can do it."

"Afraid…" I repeated. "I'm always afraid."

"Me too, Emma. Me too." Regina replied quietly.

I thought quietly for a moment, while Regina continued to look at me. "If we can imagine that we're as afraid as we've ever been when we've connected before, we should be able to establish some kind of connection. Just enough to make sure we're attempting this at the same time. Regina, this could work." I allowed myself to get excited, if only for a moment. "We can do this."

She smiled at me just before she disappeared. "Regina?" I called, even though I knew what had happened. "Regina." I said her name aloud again, just for myself. She had woken up before me, and now I was alone, waiting for daylight to break in Fairy Tale Land on the day I would hopefully return to Storybrooke.

* * *

Oh, you just wait. All of you.


	10. Echoes

Well here we go., There will probably be one chapter after this...the beginning of the end!

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sun streaming in through my open curtains. The clock on my bedside table said 10:00AM. I threw the comforter off, letting it collect in a pile on the floor. On any other day I would carefully make my bed, smoothing the sheets out, tucking the corners of the blanket in, and arranging my pillows so carefully that my bed looked like the cover of a Bed, Bath and Beyond advertisement. But today wasn't just any other day.

I stalked through my bedroom, pulling on a typical Mayoral outfit, even though I was likely no longer the mayor. I slipped into a pair of heels, not even checking to see if they accessorized correctly with my skirt and jacket. There were still two hours until Emma and I were scheduled to open the portal and I needed to get ready. There was only one way for me to gain the magic I needed to help Emma: My mother's book. I left my room, walking down the hall to Henry's room. "Henry?"

"Yeah Mom?" He asked, looking up from his fairytale book, which he was still reading.

"Come on. I'm going to drop you off with Ruby." I looked away from him.

"Why?"

Avoiding his gaze, I responded. "I have to do something today, and I need you to be somewhere else."

He jumped off his bed. "Where are you going?"

I kneeled in front of him, bringing myself down to his level. "I am trying to bring Emma back. And it might not work. But if it does, I'll be opening a portal, and that could be dangerous. I don't want you around that." I paused. "And I'm going to be using magic. I don't want you to associate magic with me anymore."

"But, I want to see her!"

"Henry." I said sternly. "This is not up for discussion. This is me telling you. Just listen. If it works, I will bring Emma to you right away." He looked doubtful. "I promise you."

He shuffled his feet and looked down. "Fine." I hugged him. "Alright, fine!" He pushed me away, not in revulsion, but more so in embarrassment. As if he was growing up too fast. I drove Henry to Granny's, leaving him with Ruby with no explanation. I considered driving to see Charming but time was short and I didn't want to get his hopes up along with mine. Why should everyone be disappointed at the same time? If things went well, he would know by the end of the day. After leaving Henry at the diner I got back into my car and drove to the one place I knew there had been a portal into Storybrooke; The crypt where I had kept Daniel.

* * *

I was ripped from sleep the next morning by a loud, unidentifiable noise. "Just one more minute, please." The noise happened again and I rolled over, growling and finally opening my eyes. The door to the castle was opening and closing, and every time it met the door frame it slammed shut with an echoing boom. I looked around and realized that Snow White and Mulan were already awake and discussing strategy.

"I don't even know where to find fairy dust these days." Snow whispered.

"There are no fairies in this land anymore." Mulan replied, voice low.

I sat up straight, launching myself out of my makeshift bed. "What time is it?"

Mulan looked at the position of the sky and then walked over to a sun dial mounted in the middle of the court. "It seems to be about ten hours past the beginning of the day." She nodded in time with her words.

I looked at Snow, hoping for an English translation. "It's ten am, Emma. Why?"

"I have a plan." Snow sat up straighter.

"What is it?"

"I think I can open a portal." I explained to her what had happened in my dream with Regina, leaving out the fact that our magic being specifically connected was the most important part of opening the portal. _I love her. I love her._ I kept thinking that repeating thought as I explained to them what was happening. At some point Aurora woke up. She silently listened to us. When I finished explaining, no one said anything for a few minutes. It was then that Aurora spoke.

"If this works, I want to come too." There was a moment of stunned silence before Mulan spoke as well.

"If Aurora goes, I do too. I go wherever she does."

Snow White and I shared a look. "Guys, this world is very different-" Snow began, in an obvious, 'you shouldn't do this' speech.

I cut her off immediately. "Of course you can come."

"Emma." Snow began, in her 'Mom' voice.

"No, Snow. They can."

"Ok…" She sounded unsure.

"As long as you are sure." I looked back at Aurora.

"I am." Aurora said, as certain as ever.

"Me too." Mulan nodded in that quiet warrior way of hers.

"So it's settled. We're all going." I looked up at the sky, and the way the sun was creeping closer and closer to the center. "Hurry up. At noon I have to be ready to open the portal. Whatever you want to bring with you, you have to be able to carry it. And that's all that you'll have in Storybrooke." Mulan and Aurora seemed like they understood, so I let the conversation drop as they gathered their possessions. Snow grabbed her bow and arrows, bringing them to the nursery with her. I kept the sword fastened at my hip. They weren't exactly things we'd need in Storybrooke, but we both wanted them. Snow led the way back upstairs while slowly looking around and secretly saying good bye to everything she was going to miss. I felt terrible but at the same time I needed to get home to Henry. We stood in the nursery and Mulan looked out the window until the sun was in the center of the sky.

"It's time."

* * *

By the time I got to the crypt, it was ten till noon. I hurried down the stairs and opened up the door to the crypt. I took a moment and looked at the empty case that used to house Daniel's preserved body. I spared it no more than a look. I would never forget Daniel but I needed to be there for Emma. I now needed to be _her_ savior. I pulled my mother's book from where I had hidden it. I flipped through the pages, looking for one page in particular. Most of the pages contained spells with specific purposes, but I needed one specific page that had a different purpose; to empower the user for a period of time. I reached that page and looked down at it. It reminded me of my mother; a memory I always tried hard to avoid. There was no way to avoid this, however. I brought the book close to my face and smelled the page. The magic coursed quickly through my body, bringing clarity to the world and a power I loved and feared at the same time. I was rooted to the spot as my body absorbed it, and then, just as quickly, I was free. I moved to the second room in the crypt where Jefferson and I had opened a small portal to summon an apple. It wasn't much but I hoped there would be enough leftover magic to open a portal.

The room now looked desolate, and in truth, it was. The pieces of my Fairy Tale Land life were all over the walls in this room. There were trinkets, boxes and little statues all around the room. They lined the walls. I wished I could bring Emma back to this land under better circumstances but this was the only place that a portal had been opened in Storybrooke and it couldn't be helped. I looked down at my watch. 11:58 AM. I stopped, knowing the only way to make this work was by establishing a connection with Emma. And through all this planning, I hadn't exactly considered how to do that. _Before, we were always afraid. _I tried to summon some kind of fear and when I allowed that thought, it all came back to me. _What if I can't do this? What if we fail? What if I have to spend my entire life alone with nothing more than nighttime visits to tide me over? _That fear, the fear of being forever alone was all I had. I wasn't sure if it was working, but it felt real enough. So I did the only thing I could think of. _Imagine being alone, Emma. Imagine life alone. That could be enough._

* * *

_Imagine being alone, Emma. Imagine life alone. That could be enough. _I heard Regina's thoughts in my mind and I did as she told me to. I found that fear and I latched onto it. Being connected to each other at the same time was a new experience. Previously, when we had entered each other's minds, it had been like looking through the one way mirror in a police station. I could see what she was seeing, hear what she was hearing, but she couldn't hear me. Now, it wasn't anything like that. It was like using a walkie-talkie in a cave. I could hear her thoughts and she could hear mine. As we continued to think of each other thoughts, I could hear my thoughts, and then hear them again as Regina heard them. I let the fear remain in me, just enough to sustain our connection. _Are you ready? _I asked Regina in my mind, as the word 'ready' echoed through my mind.

_ Of course I am. _She replied in her matter of fact way and I could hear that thought echo in both our minds. _Then let's do this. _I replied. "We're going to try it now." I spoke aloud to Snow, Mulan, and Aurora. Those words echoed as well, as Regina could hear the same words I was speaking.

"Ok." Snow replied, as she, Mulan and Aurora backed up, giving me space.

Regina and I both gathered ourselves. I could feel the way she was gathering her magic and through her thoughts I figured out exactly how to gather mine as well. Magic comes from the center of your being. It flows from the inside of your soul and you have to figure out how to own it. Regina had known for years how to do this and through her I could do it too. I gathered myself, focusing my attention on the wardrobe. This is where the last portal had been and this was where the newest portal needed to be. Regina's thoughts echoed mine, though she was focused on a small spot in the center of the room she was in. She seemed to be trying to hide a portion of her thoughts, but with our connection, that was impossible. _I'm sorry Emma. This is where I brought that apple through. _I laughed to myself._ If we can get these portals to open again, all is forgiven. _I felt the smile on her face, almost as if it was on my own.

"Let's try it now." Regina spoke aloud.

"Ok." I replied, feeling odd speaking out loud. "Let's go."

I closed my eyes, focusing only on opening a portal. Though my eyes were closed I could still see what Regina was seeing. She closed her eyes too, and we both focused on releasing our magic.

_ Bring me to Regina._

_ Bring me to Emma._

Those two thoughts bounced around in our shared minds and we both released the magic from our hands. There was a loud whooshing sound in the room I was in and the surprise at the noise almost overtook the fear I was holding on to. Regina had the exact same emotions, though whether because she was sharing mine, or because she was genuinely having the same feelings, I couldn't tell. My eyes flew open at the same time as Regina's, and I could see my portal and hers.

_It worked!_ We thought at the same time.

"Go!" I shouted, and it sounded as if my voice was echoing through my head as well as Regina's. "Go!" The fear in me turned into a powerful thrill feeling, as if I was at the top of a rollercoaster looking down. Regina could feel it too, and that doubled the power of the emotion. Aurora and Mulan quickly jumped through the portal with reckless abandon.

"Emma!" My mother called my name. "Come on!" Wind whipped around us, throwing my hair in my face. Through Regina's eyes I could see Mulan and Aurora arriving, collapsing into a heap on the ground in front of her. Regina rushed to them, helping them up and pulling them from the portal. The power of magic continued to flow through my veins, putting a slight strain on me. "Please Emma, I can't leave you!" Snow shouted to me.

"You won't! Go Snow. Go through the portal!" I continued to watch the portal, both through my eyes and Regina's. "I'll be right behind you!" She gave me one last, long look before tightening her grip on her bow and jumping through. _Now you, Emma._ I heard Regina think. _When you go through I have to hold this on my own, and I don't know how long that will last. Now you. _I watched Snow come through in front of Regina and I prepared myself. I kept my hands up, maintaining the portal as I stepped closer to it_. I'll see you soon,_ I thought to Regina, and took the last step before jumping through.

* * *

I felt the immediate change in the magic when Emma jumped through. Through her eyes I could see what she was seeing. The swirling nothingness of a portal surrounded her. She was afraid but she was also thrilled. I tried to focus on Emma's thoughts, on the way she was mesmerized and terrified at the same time, and tried to shut down the fear that was creeping into my heart. Without Emma to help me, I was losing the portal. The magic required to keep it going was easy to find between Emma and I, but alone, alone I was struggling. It began to feel as if the magic itself was coming from my life force. Magic always comes at a price. _I'm paying mine._ I thought to myself_. No!_ Emma's thoughts rang throughout my head, in that twisted, cavernous echoing way. _Hold on Regina, hold on!_ My knees gave out from under me, and the hard stone floor they collided with anchored me for a moment longer, and I maintained the magical connection. My hands started to fall, as if holding my arms up was too much for my exhausted muscles. My head started to fall as well, and I closed my eyes, focusing on getting Emma home. _Just a moment more. Just a moment more._ I chanted in my mind, as Emma's fear mixed with mine, almost paralyzing me. My heart beat faster and harder, as if it was on the verge of giving up. The portal continued to swirl before her eyes, and I could feel her excitement as she saw the end of the portal. She could see me from a distance, and I looked withered, on the verge of collapse. Emma came crashing through the portal, landing on her hands and knees, graceful as always. She crawled to me, grabbing me by my shoulders.

"Regina!" She shouted. I wasn't sure when our connection severed, but it did, and I found myself trapped in her vice grip. "Regina, let the magic go. Let it go!" I dropped my hands as I pitched forward. "Oh God, Regina no." I opened my eyes to see Emma cradling me in her arms. "Please, please don't leave me like this. I'm home." She started to cry. "I'm home." She repeated to herself as if I couldn't hear her. "Regina, hold on. Somebody help me! Please, go and get some help!" She shouted at Snow White, who ripped her gaze from me and ran from the crypt. Emma smoothed back my hair which was falling in my face. "Just hold on. Please, hold on Regina."

"Emma." I tried to say, but my voice sounded weak, even to my own ears. I reached up and caressed the side of her face, but only for a second, as my arm gave out and fell back to my chest. I couldn't move anything. My legs felt like Jello and my head was supported only by Emma's arms. Her tears fell down her face and onto me like rain, my own personal storm in the weakest moments of my life. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness as Emma shook me, trying to keep me awake. I took a deep breath, knowing it would be hard to get the words out. "I love you." I coughed, and the motion wracked my entire body. "I love you."

She smiled at me and whispered back, "I love you too. I tried to tell you earlier that I love you too." Emma's smile was in stark contrast with her tears, and provided me with one last confusing image before I was consumed by the darkness. From far away I could hear, "Regina? Regina!? No, please, please no." And then nothing.

* * *

Ohhhhh snap! Review?


	11. 3 Months Later

Well, here we go. This is the end.

* * *

The alarm on the bed side table went off, jarring me from a dreamless sleep. I sat up on the side of the bed, wiping sleep from my eyes. I got up, slowly, mechanically, putting my feet under me, the same as I did every day. I turned around, making Regina's bed exactly as I imagined she would have. Every day I followed the exact same routine. I changed, putting my dirty clothes neatly in Regina's basket. I washed my face using Regina's sink. I hung Regina's hand towel back up. As long as I had lived here, everything in this house was still Regina's. Everything in this room was still Regina's. I absentmindedly put my hand over my Mark, giving myself a moment, then I walked down the hall to make sure Henry was awake.

"Henry, you ready for school?" I asked, knocking on his door.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute." He shouted back. I could hear him rummaging around in his room. He was probably getting dressed, and when he was ready to go, he'd clean up as well, making his room as organized as it would have been if Regina had still been here. I walked down the stairs, passing through the entryway where my shoes remained by the door. Regina kept a spotless house, and I struggled to keep it that way. I went into the kitchen, taking out what was necessary to make Henry eggs and bacon for breakfast. I remembered the first time I'd tried to cook for him and had burned the eggs so bad I'd had to soak the pan for days. But it had been three months, and I'd learned to make most of Henry's favorites, including a substandard version of Regina's apple turnover. By the time Henry came downstairs I had his plate on the island, and I was calmly sipping a cup of coffee. "Hey mom." He hopped up onto his favorite chair, grabbing his fork and shoveling food into his mouth. "What are you doing today?"

"Same old, same old." Every time Henry asked the question, I always gave him the same answer. My day never changed. Henry finished eating, and he got into the squad car with me. I took him to school, dropping him off in front. "Have a nice day!" I yelled out the window as he ran into the building. I saw Snow watching me from the front door. She waved, a small cautious wave. I waved back, smiling for her benefit. I left the school, driving the squad car to the station. Aurora, who was working part time as my assistant, was already at the station, manning the desk.

"Emma," she nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hey Aurora." I smiled at her. "Where's Mulan?"

"She got in about ten minutes ago, and the first call came through. Pongo's lost, and Jiminy Cricket is losing his mind with worry. She went to help him look." She smiled a knowing smile. "We got a box of donuts. They're on your desk. We even got you some bear claws."

Aurora and Mulan were really adjusting well to life in Storybrooke. Aurora worked the desk, taking calls and managing small crises. Mulan, my deputy, worked the day shift with me. At night Charming took calls, so I could be with Henry when he needed me. If there was ever a real emergency that required the actual Sheriff, I would leave Henry with Snow overnight. That hadn't happened yet, but we all had a plan just in case. I hung my coat, going over to my desk and opening the box. I took a bear claw to eat with my coffee, sitting down and preparing myself for the day. Each and every day carried out much the same way. I would sit at this desk and fill out paperwork. I would check on Mayoral duties, such as town budget and other things like that. Until the election to replace Regina as Mayor was over, I had no choice but to make sure that the town continued to run smoothly. Rumplestiltskin often came in to help, at the urging of Belle, and I found his knowledge irreplaceable. I spent my days in this way, and every afternoon at three o'clock sharp I left the office and went to the hospital.

After school Snow often took Henry to Granny's where she could spend time with Red and he could order anything he wanted. I would get into my squad car, drive to the Game of Thorns flower shop, and buy a bouquet. It alternated every day. Sometimes I would buy roses, lilies, daisies. Anything he had fresh. And then I would drive to the hospital, walk up to the third floor, and let myself into a hospital room. I would take yesterday's flowers out of the vase and toss them in the garbage, replacing them with today's flowers and fresh water. Then I would sit in a chair next to the bed and hold Regina's hand.

"Hey." I said uneasy, just like I was every day. I smoothed back Regina's hair, all the while holding onto her hand for dear life. "Henry misses you. He doesn't say so, but he does. I can tell." I absentmindedly smoothed her sheets out over her legs. I rested my head on my elbow. "I wish you would wake up Regina. Henry isn't the only one who misses you. I miss you. I miss the way you used to make my life a living hell. I miss the way you'd put my mother in her place." I laughed. "Having a mother is a real pain in the ass sometimes." The moment of humor passed as quickly as it came. A nurse came in.

"Sheriff Swan." She nodded to me.

"Hey Amy. How're the kids?" She told me a long story about how her youngest son was finally beginning to grow, and her oldest wanted to take up boxing. When you spend every day in the hospital, you get to know the people around you. Amy moved around, Bending Regina's arm at the elbow, her legs at the knee. She stretched her muscles while keeping up a steady stream of conversation. The door to the room opened again.

"Sheriff? Can I speak to you? Privately?" Dr. Whale summoned me into the hallway. I followed him to the end of the hall where he had an office. "Please, sit down."

He sat in the chair behind the desk, and I took the uninviting plastic chair on the opposite side. "What is this about?" I asked.

"As you know, it's been three months. Today, as a matter of fact. And Regina has shown no signs of improvement. No signs on brain activity, no signs of waking up. Nothing."

"What are you saying?" I asked from the edge of my seat.

"Regina has no emergency contact. You and your son are the only people that ever come to visit her, so I thought you would be the person to bring this up to." He took a deep breath, as if he needed strength for whatever he was going to say next. "I think it might be time to consider other options."

"What do you mean, other options?" I demanded, rising from my chair and planting my palms on the desk.

"It might be time to let her go. She's breathing on her own, but that's all. She can't eat. She can't do anything for herself, and as of right now, she never will again."

"What are you saying Whale?"

"That keeping her alive is cruel and unusual at this point."

I turned away from him, slamming the door as I left his office. I ran down the hallway to Regina's room, which was empty. I pulled the blinds and crawled onto her bed, putting my arm around her stomach. I felt like a child, curling up in my mother's bed after a nightmare, but I didn't care about that at all. I grabbed Regina's hand, holding tightly to it. "I haven't given up on you." I whispered in her ear. "I know you'll come back to me, no matter how long it takes. I promise." I stayed with her for several hours, and when it started to get late I pulled myself together, wiping the tears I had tried not to cry in the first place. "Bye Regina. I'll be back tomorrow." I kissed her softly on the forehead, and walked quietly to the door. I looked once more at her before I closed the door and went home, preparing myself to spend another night pretending to be happy with Henry. I fed him dinner, tucked him in, and went to sleep in Regina's bed.

* * *

I was lost, trapped in a white world of nothingness. For hours at a time I could see nothing, could hear nothing. Occasionally I could hear Emma's voice. But tonight it was different, clearer somehow. "I haven't given up on you. I know you'll come back to me, no matter how long it takes. I promise." I looked around, still seeing nothing, but trying to get my bearings. "Bye Regina. I'll be back tomorrow." I tried to call out, but I couldn't make any sound. I only managed to control my thoughts. _Don't leave Emma. Don't let me go. Here I am._

* * *

And when I said this is the end, I meant be patient and wait for the sequel, which is tentatively called, 'Here I Am.'


End file.
